What Matters Most
by Dawn725
Summary: Carlos agreed to watch his daughter for his ex-girlfriend while she is on a business trip. His daughter is coming to stay for a few weeks. He has to worry about shielding her from the weirdness and horrors of Night Vale while working on all the science the town has to offer. Now he has something other than science, or a certain broadcaster to look out for. What is he going to do?
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's note_**

 ** _Hi! This is my first Welcome to Night Vale fan fiction. I have only known about and listened to this amazing podcast for five months now. I am not that far though I do know some of what happens. (Thanks to the amazing fan art and Pinterest for introducing the podcast and giving me spoilers.)_**

 ** _I had this idea running through my head for awhile. Just not the fandom to write it for, until now. Mostly, I wrote this for fun and for the challenge._**

 ** _Review, or PM, if you have questions. Most things will be answered later on._**

 ** _Please review! This story is my favorite (so far), but it has been a challenge for me to write. One of the reasons I like it is because it's not something I typically write. I really want to know what my readers think of it, even if it is bad._**

 ** _Also, if you can think of anything I can add that isn't in the podcast, horrors, other characters, ideas, or even radio content, feel free to review them. If I can fit it in the story and if I like it, I will put it in. I will also give you credit as well._**

 ** _I don't own Welcome to Night Vale! All I own is whatever you don't recognize from the podcast, like for example, my characters._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

 ** _*Translations are at the bottom._**

"Hello." said a frustrated Carlos as he rubbed his temple, trying to get rid of the headache he had developed over the (yet again) failed experiment.

"Hello, Carlos. This is Amy." said the voice on the other end.

"Oh, Amy. How are you doing?" asked Carlos suddenly forgetting about his headache and failed experiments.

"I am good. You?" she asked out of habit.

"Fine. Not that I don't love talking to you, but why are you calling?" asked Carlos glancing at the clock on the wall out of habit.

"I am reminding you about tomorrow. Remember what is happening?" she asked knowing he didn't.

"Um. Since I know you are going to, why don't you remind me?" asked Carlos rolling his eyes in the process and sticking his tongue out at one of his coworkers, Josh. He was making rude, funny gestures while Carlos was on the phone. Carlos made a point that it was unprofessional to take personal calls in the lab, when Josh and a few others kept talking to love ones and 'friends' at little too often.

Sure, it was acceptable when the situation called for it. Not when in the middle of an experiment and causing said experiment to blow up, which ruined a whole day of work and countless other experiments and that happened on the third day of coming to Night Vale.

"Since you asked so nicely." she said with sarcasm "I am reminding you about meeting me tomorrow to pick up Tess. You agreed to watch her for about six weeks a few months ago."

"I know I agreed to watch her, but I don't think it is a good idea." stuttered a panicked Carlos as the meaning of the phone call hit him.

"Stop. First, you agreed. Second, you need to spend time with her. Third, I have no one else. You know this. I can't take her to Japan on such short notice and it is a business trip. This would be different if it was a vacation." stated Amy "This is the first time I asked you to do anything when it came to her. This is the least you can do."

"Alright, alright. I get it. Where are we meeting?" asked Carlos as he rubbed the back of his head out of habit.

"Can you meet us at my house? That way, I don't have to drive very far and I don't have to leave very early, since it is six hour drive round trip. My plane leaves at 5 tomorrow." said Amy "Is that ok with you?"

"Yea, it's fine. See you at one." Carlos said before hanging up.

"So, who was that?" asked Diana with a smirk while Josh and Chris made kissing faces behind her.

"That was my ex-girlfriend." stated Carlos before turning back to his experiment.

"Dude, I didn't even know you had an ex." exclaimed Josh.

"Why was your ex calling you?" asked Diana.

"She has a business trip to Japan and needs me to watch our daughter while she is gone." said Carlos rather bluntly. He wanted to get his work done before tomorrow and knew they wouldn't stop bugging him till he told them want they wanted to know. He didn't even look up from his experiment when Chris did a spit take.

"And that is why I said no food, or drinks in the lab." said Diana glaring at Chris as he continued choking.

"We didn't know you had a kid." said Chris in-between coughs.

"Because it is personal and wasn't anyone's business before now." snapped Carlos as he tried to focus on his work to find out what went wrong.

Everyone went back to work after that and soon Carlos gave up on the experiment after everyone else left for the day.

He felt bad about how he acted earlier, but he was a private person who didn't like to share. Only a few people knew he had a daughter. He didn't like to broadcast everything like a certain broadcaster he knows does. He also knew that when said broadcaster found out, the whole town will so it was only a matter of time.

Honestly, he was nervous and a little terrified about bringing his daughter to Night Vale. Carlos has only been here a week and so much has happened. He feared that the town could scare, or scar, Tess and ruin any chance of him seeing her again. That alone scared him. There was also the very real possibility of him failing when it came to Night Vale, since it seemed that the town seemed to be out to get him.

Believe it, or not, he loved Tess since the first time he held her. He couldn't believe he could love someone as much in so little time until he saw her and held her. From that moment on, she had his heart and he would do anything to protect her.

Sure, he hadn't been the best father, but he was trying to change. Finishing off college and getting the grant to study this town was a start. Carlos wanted to be apart of Tess's life, he really did. Between his part time jobs, and school, he had no time to visit, or even have her spend the night.

Amy understood and that was a blessing in disguise. She understood him better than most and he hated himself for hurting her.

One night changed both their lives forever, but they didn't regret it. Some things happened for a reason.

Amy never asked for much. All she wanted was for Carlos to spend time with Tess. He had no time before and now it seems he has all the time in the world, but in one of the most dangerous towns in the country. Scratch that, most likely the most dangerous town in the the world.

Carlos offered to watch Tess when Amy talked to him about the business trip months ago. She never expected him to and would never have asked. Carlos knew she was nervous about leaving Tess with him for so long.

He only lasted a few hours the last time. In his defense, she was a baby and sick which freaked him out enough to rush her to the ER when her fever hit 100. He found out later that the fever and 'sickness' was due to teething.

Carlos tried to put all these thoughts to the back of his mind and go to sleep. He had a four hour drive tomorrow and it was two in the morning, or for all he knew it was since time may not even work in Night Vale.

A few hours later, he woke up early and started getting ready to leave. Carlos took a shower and tried to make his hair look presentable, but that didn't work. He made a mental note to visit the barber when he got back when he had time. He would need to make a good impression the next time he saw Amy. He wasn't going to risk leaving a bad impression and losing Amy's trust anymore than he possibly will after Tess goes back home. He had a bad feeling when it came to Night Vale that Amy would not be letting Tess come visit anytime after this.

Not that Night Vale was a terrible place. It was just unusual, strange, dangerous, creepy, and scary for some. He already lost a few scientists after they heard Cecil's first news broadcast and decided to leave when he gave them the chance. He just hoped he could protect his daughter from Night Vale till Amy came back to get her.

He pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind as he pulled up to Amy's house. It was a simple three story victorian gothic mansion. From the outside, you wouldn't be able to tell she was rich like some mansions he has seen. She had it fully restored to its pride and glory and nothing else done. It wasn't even that expensive of a house when she bought it. It was fixer upper and now, it looked amazing.

He wouldn't be surprised thou if she left everything to Tess if something were to happen to her. She was smart when it came to thinking ahead and planning the future. That was what made her successful in her career.

He hadn't even made it to the door when it flung open and out ran his little girl.

"Daddy!" yelled the three year old as she jumped into his arms.

"Hello, sweet heart." whispered Carlos as he hugged her.

"I am surprised you are on time. I thought I would have to call you again." joked Amy as she walked through the door.

"I am not always late." said Carlos as he looked at his ex. She hadn't changed much since the last time he saw her. Her dark brown hair was shorter and styled professionally. She wore a dark green dress suit with black high heels and a black undershirt. The outfit only defined her olive skin tone and green eyes.

Tess had Carlos's skin tone and curly hair. Tess's hair color was just a little darker than Amy's, but not as dark as his jet black. Tess looked more like him than her mother thou, except she had Amy's nose and round face shape. Tess's eyes were another story though. Tess had hazel eyes, unlike Carlos's brown, or Amy's green eyes. They made Tess even more special in Carlos's opinion because she could still have his eye color, or her mother's. It depended on the light around her if her eyes looked green or brown.

"Estas listo para ir?" asked Carlos as Tess pulled out of their hug.

"Sí!" said Tess with a huge grin.

"Well, let's get you all packed up and set for the car ride." said Amy as she pointed to Tess's bags in the doorway.

"Did you pack enough for her?" asked Carlos staring at the six bags in the hallway. He couldn't imagine a little child like Tess needing so many clothes, but he wasn't that surprised.

"Yep. I figured you had no clothes for her, or at least unpacked, so these three are clothes. These two are bathroom stuff, toys, movies, Kitty's clothes, and Tess's shoes. This one is her art supplies." explained Amy while they carried her bags to the car "Now here is a list of foods she likes, dislikes, recipes she likes, her normal routine, how to wash her outfits, things she likes doing, activities you can do with her, emergency numbers, shows she can watch, do not lose Kitty cause Kitty is her security blanket…" She said all this while showing him the sheets of paper in red, yellow, and blue folders.

"I think we will be ok." interrupted Carlos as he took the folders away from her and putting them in the front seat with a smile.

"I know that, it's just…" said Amy as she tried to stop herself from crying.

"It's ok. I know what you mean." whispered Carlos as he hugged her with one arm since the other still held Tess. He rubbed her arm before letting go.

"Um, I better put in the car seat for you." said Amy before she turned away and walked back to the house.

Carlos knew this was hard on Amy. She has never been away from Tess for more than a few days. She was a wonderful mother. If it wasn't for her mother dying three months ago, he wouldn't be watching Tess now.

Amy's mother was a kind, caring lady. She never judged Amy for keeping Tess, or even for Carlos not marrying Amy like some people he knew. That woman treated Carlos like a son. Not a horrible person who knocked up her daughter and couldn't marry a woman he couldn't love like she so deserved. She helped Amy out the most and now it only seemed right for Carlos to try taking that amazing woman's place.

Amy came back with the car seat and put it in the car.

"Alright, Tess." Amy said taking her daughter from Carlos's arms "Be a good girl and listen to your daddy. Ci vediamo tra qualche settimana, ok?"

"Ok, mamma." said Tess. Amy smiled and gave Tess a hug and kiss.

"Ti amo." she whispered into Tess's ear and handing her a small, black cat.

"Amate anche voi, mamma." said Tess as Amy put her in the car seat and gave her one last kiss.

"We will be fine, Amy. I promise to call you if I need anything, or have any questions." said Carlos as he pulled Amy in a hug so she can wipe her tears without Tess seeing.

"Thank you." whispered Amy before giving him a quick peck and pulling away.

"Your welcome." said Carlos with a wave as he made his way to the driver side of his car.

"I will make sure to call, text, Skype, and email you every day till I get back." yelled Amy as he hopped into the car.

"I know you will. Bye!" yelled Carlos as he started up the engine and waved, before driving away.

"Bye! Have fun!" yelled Amy waving at the car.

Tess waved as they pulled away and after two hours of talking, Tess fell asleep. Carlos used this time to think before reaching Night Vale. He had to get groceries and set up Tess's room in his new apartment. If he didn't get the second one done later then Tess would just have to sleep with him till he got her room done. Carlos had to admit deep down that even if he had her room done, he still would have her sleep in his room. Anything could happen in Night Vale and until he felt more comfortable with her sleeping alone, he would have her sleep in his room.

Better safe than sorry and he wasn't putting his daughter's safety in jeopardy any more than he already was.

Carlos called his second in command, Diana, to see how things were going in the lab when he was thirty minutes away. If they needed him in the lab when he got back in town, he would have to have one of the scientists watch Tess while he helped out. It turned out that it wasn't going to be an issue. They were just wrapping up some of the experiments and filling out the paperwork with their findings when he called.

He pulled into Big Rico's parking lot since he remembered that he needed to eat there this week and it was not for the reason to run next door and check out the lab real fast afterwards.

"Tess, Tess. Wake up, princesa. We are here." Carlos said stroking her hair as she started waking up. He unbuckled her and picked her up, making sure to grab her art bag before shutting the door.

"Daddy? I hungry." muttered Tess clutching Kitty close to her chest as he carried her into the restaurant.

"Well, it's a good thing we are at a pizza place, huh?" Carlos said with a chuckle when Tess's head snapped up at the word pizza.

"Quiero queso." she said as he put her in the booth and sat down next to her.

"Anything for you, la princesa." said Carlos with a grin. He ordered the food and while waiting, colored with Tess until she smacked his hand away since he was doing it wrong. After that, he just sat there watching her color and having random chats with her.

"Ah, Carlos. Hi." stuttered a voice from behind him.

Carlos turned around and saw the one person he did not want to see at the moment. Mostly cause he wasn't ready for all of Night Vale to know about his daughter yet.

Carlos knew he had to stuck it up and talk to him. He turned around greeted them with a wave. Carlos noticed Tess didn't even bother looking up from her drawing to look at the people he was talking to. She seemed to have inherited that trait from him.

"Hello, Carlos. Who is this cutie here?" asked Old Woman Josie getting straight to the point.

"This is my daughter, Tess. She is staying with me for a few weeks while her mother is on a business trip." explained Carlos. A small part of Carlos was rather smug to see the all composed, rarely surprised Cecil's eyes go big for a split second at hearing the introduction for Tess.

Tess looked up when she heard her name. When she realized Carlos wasn't talking to her, she went back to work. But not before grinning and waving at the two.

"She is adorably cute, Carlos. I can tell she is yours cause she looks just like you." gushed Cecil with that goofy, cutie grin of his. Not that Carlos notices that type of thing, mind you.

"Thank you." said Carlos with a smile before quickly glancing at Tess.

"I have a question for you, dearie." said Old Woman Josie.

"Ok." said Carlos.

"Who do you have to watch this little one while you work?" asked Old Woman Josie with a smile.

"Um… I haven't actually thought about that." admitted Carlos rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Mommy said he forgot I was coming. Too busy with science and working. Mommy complained to Aunt Rose yesterday." said Tess as she grabbed a green crayon.

"Thanks." said Carlos sarcastically.

"Your welcome, daddy." said Tess with a smile before going back to her drawing.

"I would like to offer my services whenever you may need it. You both are always welcomed at my house." offered Cecil before blushing after he realized what he said.

"I couldn't ask you to do that Cecil." said Carlos before adding "You have a job. Remember? I am almost always working when you are on air." when he saw Cecil's disappointed face.

"But I could. I am sure the Angels won't have a problem with her." said Old Woman Josie "And I don't want to hear anything about my age, or it being too much trouble. I will be happy to help out a friend."

"Well, thank you. I may take you up on that offer." said Carlos.

Just then, their food came.

Cecil and Old Woman Josie said good bye, but not before Josie gave Carlos her phone number followed by Cecil. They told him to call whenever he needed it.

Carlos and Tess went to the grocery store next and headed home afterwards.

He had put Tess to bed and decided to turn on the radio as he put away her things and getting her room ready for her.

He stopped for a moments to listen to this.

' _Oh, listeners. You would never guess what happened to me today. Now you know I am not one to gossip, but I just have to tell you. I ran into Carlos at Big Rico's Pizza earlier today with Old Woman Josie and beautiful, perfect Carlos had a little girl next to him. Of course, I could tell she was related to him. But guess what?' (He paused to effect before talking again.) 'He introduced her as his daughter, which was a shock. Who would have thought perfect Carlos would be a father? I sure didn't. But I can tell he loves her very much.'_

 _'She is so adorable. She has his smile, curly hair, and his caramel skin tone. She looked a lot like him, now that I think about it. You can tell she is his daughter.'_

 _'She even has his work ethic as she rarely looked up from coloring her pictures.'_

 _'Her name is Tess. A perfect name for a cutie like her.' He said sighing._

 _'I guess I should get back to the news now since I have been given a note by Intern Chad to get back to the news…'_

He was not surprised that Cecil gushed about that on the radio. Carlos seemed to be Cecil's favorite topic and now it looks like his daughter will be too.

 ** _Thanks for everything you did, even if it is just reading. Hope you enjoyed it! Unless something changes, posting day is the 2nd of every month._**

 ** _I don't speak any other languages besides English. If anything is wrong, sorry. Blame the program I used and please correct it in a review. I wish I knew more languages, but I don't._**

 **Translations:**

 **Spanish**

 **Estas listo para ir-Are you ready to go?**

 **sí-yep**

 **la princesa-princess**

 **Quiero queso-I want cheese**

 **Italian**

 **Ci vediamo tra qualche settimana, ok- See you in a few weeks, ok**

 **Ti amo-I love you**

 **Amate anche voi, mamma-Love you too, mommy**


	2. Chapter 2

***Italic words = Spanish!**

 **I am trying something different this chapter, so any Italic words are spoken in the story as Spanish. I wanted to see if this would be better, since I don't speak the language and I don't want to make stupid mistakes that may offend people. I also realized other people may think it was annoying to read the story and not know what the characters are saying till the end. Personally, I get annoyed by that.**

 **BTW- It has nothing to do with any reviews. I thought of doing this when I started this, but forgot till now. (I had too much fun in Google Translate!) If everyone prefers this, I will change the first chapter as well. I can also have them speak the different languages more too.**

 **This chapter is the main reason I wrote this story. I couldn't pass up the chance to write it. (Personally, this is my favorite chapter so far and I wanted to post it on my birthday.)**

 **So, here you go.** **Thanks for all you do, even if it is just reading!**

 **Enjoy!**

It wasn't until the Glow Cloud incident that he took Old Woman Josie up on her offer to watch Tess, which was a few days after Tess came.

Up until then, he hadn't needed it. Tess was very good for her age. She listened to all the scientists and did what she was told. She stayed at Carlos's desk, either coloring, painting, or doing science that was a little kid's lab she suckered Josh into getting her. (She was only allowed to use when another adult could help her.)

All the scientists fell in love her and treated her like she was their child. There was always someone looking after her and Carlos was even able to leave a few times without her to collect data.

But that day, everyone was busy and he was the only one to go collect data on the Glow Cloud. Carlos had no choice, but to call Old Woman Josie who gladly took her for the day.

He dropped off a crying Tess and thanked Old Woman Josie before running off to chase the Glow Cloud. Carlos felt horrible about leaving Tess there, but Old Woman Josie said she can handle it and asked Tess if she wanted to make cookies. That got Tess distracted enough for Carlos to slip away.

He didn't get any good readings, but he was able to collect a few of the dead animals to study later. He was glad he didn't bring Tess on this trip.

He went back after dropping them off at the lab and picked up Tess from Old Woman Josie's.

"Thank you again, Ms. Josie." said Carlos as he guided Tess out of her house.

"It was no trouble. The Angels seem to like her. She is welcomed back anytime." said Old Woman Josie with a smile as she handed Carlos a box of cookies.

"Thanks, Ms. Josie for the cookies." said Tess with big eyes as she looked at the box.

"And?" said Carlos.

"And for watching me." said Tess with a smile before reaching for her father's hand.

"Would you be able to watch Tess again tomorrow? I have to do some dissections tomorrow and I don't want her exposed to that." whispered Carlos as he held the cookies out of Tess's reach. She was too focused on the cookies to hear what he was saying.

"Of course I can." said Old Woman Josie as she waved goodbye to the duo.

"Thanks again. Bye." waved Carlos before walking to the car.

"Bye, Ms. Josie. Bye Angels that don't exist." yelled Tess as she waved before Carlos put her in her carseat.

"How was your day?" asked Carlos as they pulled away.

"Good. Made cookies and colored. I tried playing dolls with the Angels, but they didn't seem to want to." pouted Tess before she went into more details on what she did today.

Carlos smiled as she continued talking and he gave input whenever needed. Soon though, his thoughts went back to science.

"Daddy?" asked Tess, snapping Carlos from his thoughts.

"Yes, princesa." said Carlos. He glanced into the rear view mirror at her in an attempt to show her he was listening before turning his attention back to the road.

"Why don't we listen to the radio?" she asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Carlos asked a little shocked by that question. He wondered where that came from.

"Whenever we get in the car, you turn down the radio. You always turn it off when that nice voice comes on. He sounds nice, so why don't you listen to him? He says good things about you." explained Tess tilting her head to the side.

Carlos made a mental note to tell the other scientists to turn off the radio whenever Tess was around. It seemed she heard a few broadcasts from Cecil, even though he has tried his hardest to block her from them.

That doesn't mean he doesn't listen though. He records the broadcasts for science and nothing else. Cecil mentions a lot of what is going on in Night Vale and it helped pinpoint where some scientific events that were happening around town. It had nothing to do with Cecil's soothing voice.

Carlos listened to the recordings when Tess went to bed so she didn't overhear and he could relax for a little bit.

"I am sure he is nice and he does say good things. I turn down the radio, because I am just so interested in hearing you talk. I can't listen to the radio and you at the same time." explained Carlos.

"Ok. Do you know Sunday is Dot Day? Red dots on what you love, blue dots on what you don't. Don't mix them up." she stated changing the subject.

" _That's nice. Where did you hear that from?_ " asked Carlos with raised eyebrows.

" _From the man on the radio. I only remember that and_ _Khoshekh, the station kitty_ _._ " said Tess.

" _Do you pay attention to what he is saying?_ " asked a nervous Carlos.

" _No. I was only interested in Dot Day and the floating kitty. I didn't know a kitty could float._ " giggled Tess. She thought that was so cool, but she could only beg her daddy to get her a real kitty. It would be so much cooler if it floated too.

Carlos sighed in relief at that. He did not need Tess talking to Amy about glowing clouds that rained down dead animals that night. He was able to block out most of the strange things in Night Vale from Tess so far, but he didn't know how long that would last.

He also didn't need her to hear of Cecil's love for him as Cecil has a habit of gushing about him on air. Carlos did not need Amy to know about that. He will never hear the end of it. Amy made it her duty to 'help' Carlos in his love life and he didn't need that.

The next day went a little better. There were fewer tears this time around. Tess still cried, but not sobbing like the day before. That helped Carlos's guilt about leaving her.

He went to the lab and things could have gone better there. Of course, science and Night Vale don't mix. None of the results of the dissections made any sense. The only results they got was that green blood was acid like, purple blood vanished into thin air, blue blood floated, orange turned into a gas that made anyone who breathed it in turn orange with green dots all over them (Josh was the unlucky one on that one and they had no clue of any other side effects of that one), and yellow blood turned into spiders and attacked Dave.

Luckily, nothing bad happened to Dave and Josh was in quarantine at the hospital. The doctors were confident Josh would make a full recovery, but it would take a few days.

Carlos was exhausted when he went to pick up Tess later that day. Old Woman Josie was sitting on the front porch, drinking tea when he pulled up.

"Hello, Carlos. How was your day?" asked Old Woman Josie as he walked up her sidewalk.

"Could have gone better. You?" asked Carlos as he looked around the yard for Tess.

"Good. Tess is such a doll. She helped me out in the garden today. She is inside coloring right now. Tess says it is too hot for her to color outside today." explained Old Woman Josie.

Carlos looked through the window Old Woman Josie was pointing to and was surprised (and relieved) to see that Tess wasn't alone in the house. Sitting cross legged right next to her was Cecil. It looked like he was coloring with her and by her body language, telling him how to color.

Cecil just smiled and followed her demands like it came naturally.

"Cecil has been a big help today as well. He came by for a visit and has been playing with her for four hours now." said Old Woman Josie "He is really good with her, don't you think?"

Carlos couldn't agree more. He watched them for a little bit before following Old Woman Josie into the house.

"Is this good enough?" asked Cecil kindly, looking over to Tess for confirmation.

"Yes, only use this color." said Tess as she handed him a purple crayon which he gladly took.

"I see you are training Cecil in your special art of coloring." stated Carlos bringing both the colorers attention to him.

"Daddy!" yelled Tess forgetting about her coloring and jumping up to hug Carlos.

"Hey, princesa. How was your day?" asked Carlos.

"Really fun. I had fun with Cece." said Tess pointing to Cecil "We played dolls, had a tea party, and colored."

" _That does sound like fun_." said Carlos with a grin looking at Cecil "Thank you for playing with Tess."

"It was no trouble. I was happy to help and watch her. She is such a good girl." stuttered Cecil with a slight blush.

"How about I treat you to Big Rico's Pizza tomorrow as a thank you? Just a thank you, nothing more." clarified Carlos. He got down on the floor to help Tess and Cecil pick up her crayons and papers.

"I would love that. I should be off by five tomorrow." said Cecil with a smile.

"We will meet you there at five then." said Carlos standing up.

"Neat." said Cecil.

"Well, we should be leaving. It is getting late." said Carlos as he picked up Tess and walked towards the door.

"Thank you, Ms. Josie. Cecil." said Carlos.

"Your welcome." said Old Woman Josie and Cecil together.

"Bye, Cece. Bye, Old Woman Josie. Bye!" waved Tess as Carlos put her in the car seat.

"Bye." waved Cecil and Old Woman Josie.

"Bye." said Carlos before pulling away.

The next day, Carlos woke up the next morning to four sticker sheets under his front door. He was confused at first till he remembered what Tess said the other day.

Today was Dot Day. Red stickers for love, blue for what you don't. He guessed that they both get one sheet of each color. He went and put the sheets on the table before going to wake up Tess. He was sure she would be excited about today. She was very worried the night before that she wouldn't get stickers for today, since she was only here for a little bit.

As soon as Tess saw the sheets, she squealed with delight and immediately put a red sticker on Carlos's forehead. He in turn put a red one on her forehead making her giggle.

As they were leaving, Tess noticed someone put most of their red stickers in the shape of a heart on the outside of their front door. That made her day as she was all giggles any time she told anyone about it and she told everyone who would listen.

Carlos spent the morning with Tess getting soil samples and rock samples from the Scrub Lands and the Sand Wastes. Tess loved helping him collect the samples, but he wouldn't let her pick any plants, or flowers. He was a scientist, not a botanist or a dendrologist. He was just doing this as a favor for Josh, who was still in the hospital.

They went back to the apartment for lunch. After lunch, Carlos had Tess do her writing as he did paperwork just like they always do when he had paperwork to do. (Which was every day.)

Tess was learning to write her letters and numbers. Her hand writing was getting better from a doctor's signature to recognizable letters. She has also been learning to draw shapes and some of the shapes he could tell what they were. He had her practice drawing shapes and tell him the colors she was using when she got bored of writing letters. When she got bored with that, he was done with his paperwork and it was almost time to meet up with Cecil. He also had to drop off the samples they took earlier today.

Tess carried her sheet of stickers around the whole day. She gave red stickers to all the scientists and they had to stop by Old Woman Josie's on the way to the lab, to give her a red sticker as well. For all the red stickers she gave, she got a red one in return. Of course, most of her red stickers went to him as well as most of his stickers went to her. He noticed she actually hasn't used any of her blue stickers yet, that is until Big Rico's Pizza.

They walked into Big Rico's and saw Cecil putting the last of his blue stickers on Steve Carlsberg.

"Hi, Cece." said Tess as they walked up to Cecil and Steve.

"Hi, Tess." said Cecil with a huge smile "Ready for some pizza?"

"Yep. Who are you?" she asked pointing to Steve.

"Steve Carlsberg. Nice to met you." said Steve holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Steve Carlsberg…" she whispered with a frown on her face.

"I don't like you." she said with narrowed eyes and putting a blue sticker on a shocked Steve's hand. Then she looked back down at her blue sheet deep in thought. There was an awkward silence as they waited for her to make her next move. Made even more so because Cecil was trying really hard not to laugh.

"I don't need the rest of these. You can have them. I would put them all on, but I hungry." she said handing him the rest of her blue stickers before skipping over to a table and sitting down. That broke Cecil's resolve as he started laughing like crazy leaving Carlos shocked and slightly embarrassed and Steve speechless.

"Um, I don't know where that came from. Sorry." stuttered blushing Carlos before giving an awkward smile and making his way to the table Tess was sitting at.

Cecil followed shortly after and sat down across the table after he was able to calm down.

"Oh, Cece. I want to give you this." Tess said standing up and crawling across the table to put a red sticker on Cecil's forehead.

"Why, thank you Tess. This is for you." said Cecil as he put his last red sticker on her forehead in return.

"Thank you." giggled Tess as Carlos picked her up and put her back in her seat.

"Oh, you would never guess what happened today. Someone used their red stickers and made it in a shape of a heart on my front door this morning." said an excited Tess.

Carlos noticed Cecil blush before Tess started pointing to each sticker and telling him who gave it to her with great enthusiasm that only a three year old could possess. That confirmed his theory that Cecil was the one to put the sticker heart on his door earlier today and Carlos didn't know quite how to return the gesture yet. Tess had been in such a giggly mood today because of that. Carlos felt he had to do something to make it up to Cecil somehow.

"Daddy?" asked Tess after she looked at the rest of her red stickers.

"Yes, princesa." said Carlos looking at her.

"Can we send the rest of my stickers to mommy?" she asked.

The look on Cecil's face didn't go unnoticed by Carlos when she asked that question. For a split second, he looked hurt. He quickly covered it back up before Tess noticed.

 _'_ Of course he would feel hurt. He admitted he loved you on his radio show for everyone to hear and here is YOUR daughter talking about HER mother. He doesn't even know anything about you _.'_ thought Carlos before he answered Tess's question.

"Yes, we can. We will ask her tonight for the address to send them and we can send them when the Post office opens up again." said Carlos as an idea struck him.

"Cecil? Can you watch Tess while I go to the restroom real fast?" asked Carlos to which Cecil agreed wholeheartedly.

Carlos made his way to the restrooms and looked back at the table to see if he was being watched. When he was satisfied he wasn't, he snuck out the side door. A few minutes later, he came back in and sat down.

The rest of dinner was nice. Tess colored while the men talked about science and newsworthy stuff that was happening around town. Before Carlos knew it, it was time for Amy's daily phone call. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Carlos hoped that Cecil liked his surprise as he lay in bed that night waiting for sleep to come. Then again, he hoped Cecil didn't realize it was him. He thought back to when he had put the rest of his red stickers on Cecil's drivers side window as a show of thanks, or so he told himself, as he fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**_*Italic words are Spanish. Italian is bold._**

Carlos and Tess got in a routine the next few days.

Carlos would take Tess to Old Woman Josie's for the day while he went to work after he feed her breakfast. She dressed herself thou. She refused to let him pick her clothes and he didn't want to fight with her. She fit right in with Night Vale's fashion anyway. He picked her up around four, sometimes five to take her home to eat supper. By the time supper was finished, it would be time for Amy to call. After that, he got Tess ready for bed and read her The Lightening Thief until she fell asleep. He would then work while listening to his recorded broadcasts before heading to bed himself two hours later to start the day over again.

The one thing that Carlos always had a hard time doing was Tess's hair. She hated getting her hair combed. She never sat still long enough for him to get all the knots out. He didn't dare try doing her hair more than a simple ponytail. Lucky for him, he could get away with just putting it into a ponytail and she didn't care either way.

Carlos was relieved when he learned Tess wasn't affected by the creeping fear went through town. He called Josie right after to see how Tess was doing. He was happy to learn that Josie and Tess were not affected, even thou he questioned why.

He got his hair cut like he planned to do weeks ago. He also had to get Tess's hair cut because she got ahold of a pair of scissors and cut her own hair. She got gum stuck in her hair was the reason she gave him when Carlos found her.

Amy was so going to kill him. It took her forever to grow Tess's hair long and now it looked like she will lose four to five inches. He was so dead.

On top of the death threats from the ex, Carlos was shocked when Cecil made a huge deal about the hair cuts especially Carlos's hair cut. Sure, it was shorter than Carlos would have liked, but he knew it would grow back. Cecil was not so forgiving and he pretty much ran the barber out of town for simply doing his job.

Even worse, Tess heard that broadcast and agreed with Cecil. Apparently, Carlos didn't look like daddy anymore. Whatever that means. Luckily, he didn't go off in a negative way about her hair. All he said was that he loved her haircut. It brought out her curls and reminded him of Carlos even more. He gushed over her hair and raged about his hair in a typical Cecil way.

Carlos didn't see much of a difference in Tess's hair though. Instead of past the middle of her back, it was three inches past her shoulders now. He could still get away with just putting it up into a ponytail, so he didn't mind her haircut.

After that broadcast, Carlos had to take Tess to go see Cecil. She was scared Station Management got him and she wouldn't see him again.

This was one of the rare broadcasts that Carlos let her listen to. Mostly, because he got too caught up in work and wasn't paying attention until he heard his name on the radio. Tess threw a fit when he tried to turn it off and so, she was able to listen to the show as a way to keep her temper in check.

Tess ran up crying and hugged Cecil when she saw him. Deep down, Carlos was relieved to see that he made it out okay. Even if he sent the whole town after the barber, Cecil didn't deserve to die. He also won't admit it until months later, but he really loved the way the other man had picked up Tess and held her in a very fatherly way.

After that, Carlos dived into his work and taking care of Tess to really care about anything else.

One day he realized he was getting too comfortable and Tess would be going back to her mom and he may not be able to see her again.

He blamed that and the added stress from work, for his crazy out burst at community hall. He still couldn't believe he did that and in front of Tess no less.

After calming down and a lecture from Diana later, Carlos felt pretty much back to normal.

He decided to relax more and enjoy the time he had with Tess while he still had her. Carlos worked on putting work and stress behind him when it came to Tess. That was harder to do than he thought.

His life revolved around science and he had to be constantly reminded that Tess's life revolved around him. He couldn't just focus on science anymore.

But he was working on it.

More days rolled by and life went on.

Then last night he talked to Amy. It turned out that her business trip would take longer than expected. She was going to be there for a few more weeks, maybe even months.

"I am so sorry, Carlos. I never would have imagined that it would take this long. I hope this doesn't inconvenience you too much." said Amy.

"No, of course not. I love having Tess here." said Carlos.

"You do know that means you have to plan her birthday party, right?" asked a nervous Amy.

"Ah, yea. I knew that." said Carlos silently cursing himself at forgetting Tess's birthday.

"Her birthday is August 23rd." said an unconvinced Amy.

"I know that." said Carlos as he wrote down the date.

"You have to tell me when the party is so I can get a few days off to come and see her." said Amy.

"Alright, I will." said Carlos before hanging up.

He was going to need help. He only had a few weeks to plan it.

Luckily, his coworkers knew what to do when he explained the problem to them. Rachelle planned the menu, Dave figured out a venue which happened to be Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. (Much to Carlos's annoyance.) Josh got the decorations. Diana found out the princess theme by tricking it out of Tess, since they all decided to make it a surprise party. Chris choose the music. That left Carlos with getting the cake, ice cream, plates, silverware, cups, invites, and presents.

Amy emailed him a list of Tess's friends that could come and asked him if he could buy her a present from her. She said that would be a big help, he didn't have too, and she would pay him back when she saw him. He emailed her back saying he can get the gift to help Amy out.

Carlos even invited Cecil (who was told it was a surprise and not to say anything on air about it), Old Woman Josie, the other scientists of Night Vale, some of the interns from the radio station that were still alive, and a few of residents of Night Vale. Not Steve Carlsberg though.

One of Tess's friends from outside of Night Vale was able to come. Nicky Myers was coming, along with his parents. Carlos actually knew his parents and was looking forward to seeing them again.

The day of the party was here before Carlos knew it. His team of scientists helped set up the party while he distracted Tess.

Carlos took her on errands and did chores around the apartment while she watched tv, or colored. When the time came to leave for the party, Tess was all for leaving.

"Hey, princess. Do you want to go do something fun?" asked Carlos with a knowing grin.

" _Yes! What are we going to do?" asked Tess jumping off the couch._

" _I was thinking about taking you bowling_." said Carlos putting on his thinking face _"Would you want to do that?_ "

 _"Oh yes. Please. I always wanted to go bowling._ _"_ said Tess running up to Carlos _"What's bowling?"_

Carlos chuckled, "You'll see." was his reply as they walked out of the apartment.

On the drive over, Carlos prayed nothing bad would happen to ruin Tess's special day.

Carlos pulled into the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex parking lot with an excited toddler in the backseat.

"Daddy! Can we invite Cecil and Josie too? I just remembered they bowl." said Tess as they walked through the door.

"It's a little late to call them, but maybe we will see them here." said Carlos as he got their shoes and they made their way down to the secret party room.

" _Daddy? Why is that room dark?_ " asked Tess pointing to the party room.

"I don't know. Why don't we go find out?" said Carlos as they walked into the only dark room in the building and turned on the light.

"SURPRISE!" yelled everyone in the room.

"Happy birthday, princesa." said Carlos to a speechless Tess.

"This is my party?" asked Tess looking around the room.

"Yes, it is." said a voice from behind them. Tess whipped around so fast it wouldn't be a surprise if she got whiplash.

"Mommy!" yelled Tess as she ran into her mother's arms.

 **"** **Hello, sweet heart. How have you been** **?"** asked Amy.

 **"** **I have been great, mamma.** **"** said Tess.

 **"** **That's great to hear, sweet heart.** **"** said Amy.

"Tess!" yelled Derek walking up to them from the entrance of the building. Nicky pushed past his father before yelling "Happy birthday!"

"No fair! I wanted to tell her happy birthday first." Derek said jokingly.

"Too bad." said Nicky sticking his tongue out at his father, who in turn stuck his out. He was out of breath, so Carlos assumed they were racing to get in. Derek could be just as childish as Nicky, if not more.

Tess wiggled out of her mother's arms and hugged Nicky.

"I haven't seen you in ages." said Tess.

"And ages." said Nicky before they started laughing.

"Alright! Let's bowl." said Amy as she guided the children to the lanes with some of the adults following.

"Nice to see you again, Carlos." said Rose Miller walking up to him.

"Yea, like the children said it's been ages." said Derek Miller as he wrapped his arms around his wife and laying his chin on her head.

"It's been a while hasn't it." stated Carlos "I still see you are using Rose as a leaning post."

"I always will." said Derek with a wink.

"Care to introduce us to everyone? We were late after all." said Rose.

"I had a hard time finding this place. It was like this place didn't want to be found." Derek defended his navigation skills.

"Sure? Like in Florida?" said Rose "We were lost for two whole days and he wouldn't pull over to ask directions to Miami."

"Hm." said Derek "Shutting up now." which earned laughs from everyone in the room.

Carlos introduced them to everyone that showed up which were his team, Old Woman Josie, and Cecil. A few interns from the radio station came as well, but they left with the kid group to bowl.

Carlos and Derek went to help Amy with the kids. Old Woman Josie and the scientists followed while Rose stayed back with Cecil.

"How far along are you?" asked Cecil as he helped her carry a plate to the table. She had her hands full carrying a plate of food and cup of juice, so Cecil insisted on helping the very pregnant woman carry her plate to the table.

"I am not pregnant." Rose said with a straight face. Cecil's eyes got huge and a blush was creeping up before she started laughing. It was very rare to see the radio host shocked speechless.

"Kidding, I am almost full term." said Rose smacking him in the arm "You don't have to be so tense around me. I don't bite anyone, but my husband. That is for a totally different reason."

"So, how do you know Carlos and Amy? If you don't mind me asking." asked a blushing Cecil trying to change the subject.

"Oh, I don't mind. I was college room mates with Amy. Derek was room mates with Carlos." said Rose "Us four were best friends in college."

"By the way, you don't have to be jealous of Amy. You have a better chance with him than she does." whispered Rose.

"What do you mean by that?" asked a shocked Cecil.

"I saw how you looked at her and I also saw how you looked at Carlos." said Rose with a grin "You also blush whenever I say his name."

"What do you mean I have a better chance?" stuttered Cecil.

"Cecil sweetie, Carlos is gay. He 'dates' guys even though he hasn't been on many dates." clarified Rose after the look on confusion on Cecil's face.

"But how did…" stuttered Cecil looking in the direction of the bowling lane.

"A drunken night. They stayed friends afterwards." explained Rose rubbing her stomach "You'll have to ask Carlos, or Amy for details."

"Or not." she added when she looked at his face.

"So, you are a radio broadcaster?" asked Rose changing the subject.

"Yes, I am the voice of Night Vale and a journalist at heart." said Cecil slipping into his radio voice.

"Oh." said Rose looking at her stomach.

"Are you ok? Do you need anything? Is the baby coming? I can go get Teddy Williams. He is a doctor, you know? Do you want me to get Derek? Or Carlos? Are you alright?" asked Cecil in a span of twenty seconds. He started getting up before Rose put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Calm down." giggled Rose "Everything is fine. The baby just kicked suddenly. Nothing is wrong."

"Are you sure?" asked Cecil, his eyebrows frowned in worry.

"Yes, she seems to like your voice. She really started moving and kicking when she heard you talk. She is to the point in the pregnancy where she can't move all that much, so it surprised me when she kicked me so hard." said Rose.

"Alright, if you are sure." said Cecil, relief shone on his face after she reassured him.

"Do you want to feel?" asked Rose.

"Um." stuttered Cecil with a slight blush. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Come on. It is not that bad, or scary. Here." said Rose grabbing his hand and placing it on her stomach.

"I feel her." said a wide eyed Cecil.

"Well, duh." stated Rose "Isn't it amazing?"

"Yea, it is." said Cecil slipping into his radio voice a little and getting kicked in the process.

"I told you she likes you." giggled Rose after Cecil moved his hand away in shock.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You just met me. Not to be rude, or anything." wondered Cecil after some silence.

"I can tell you are a good person. I have heard pretty good things about you. I can tell you care about this town and everyone in it. Well, almost everyone." said Rose with a smirk "Also, Tess talks to Amy about you. Amy talks to me. She has been wanting to meet you. I have too, if I am being completely honest. Carlos, Amy, and Tess are like family to me and my family as well. I only want what is best for them."

"Oh." said Cecil.

"I am interested in you. Not many guys would have anything to do with Carlos, let alone want to date him." stated Rose with a shrug.

"Why?" asked Cecil. He didn't understand why anyone would not want to date Carlos.

"Where we come from, people aren't as understanding of same sex relationships. They are frowned upon by unfortunately most. Then there's the fact that Carlos is a scientist, work alcoholic, and a father to boot. Anyone who would want to date him that can look past the scientist part and work alcoholic part, can't look past the father part. Most people want to date someone with no children." said Rose "My Derek talks to Carlos and Carlos mentioned you in quite a few emails. He said you fell for him instantly and announced it on your radio show. I may have forgotten to mention that before."

"So, Carlos does talk about me?" asked Cecil with a slight blush.

"He does. He isn't good with issues of the heart. He uses his head more than his heart. Memories included." Rose said patting his hand "You have to give him time. He will realize it eventually that you are being true about your feelings and not making fun of him, or leading him on as a joke. I know you are not, but people have done that to him. I am glad you are in his life."

"Thank you." said Cecil.

"No, thank you." said Rose looking into his amethyst eyes just as Carlos walked in.

"Rose, your hubby fell asleep and the children decided to make him beautiful. Amy is taking pictures for future blackmail. But if you want to get some for yourself, feel free. I know I did." said Carlos with a smirk as he grabbed a bag.

"She also wanted Tess to change into her princess dress that Diana got for the party." Carlos said gesturing to the bag and walking back to the group.

"I have to see this." said Rose standing up "You coming Cecil?"

"Yea, of course." said Cecil a little of his Radio voice leaking through as followed her out of the room.

Sure enough, when they got there the kids were beautifying Derek like Carlos said. Nicky was applying lipstick. Tess was putting eye shadow on. Derek's black hair was put in ponytails all around his head and it looked like they had already put heavy blush on.

It amazed Cecil that the man could sleep through it all.

"Nicky, how many times do I have to tell you? Use medium pink lipstick color, not dark fuchsia. It matches his skin tone better." said Rose as she took pictures with her cellphone.

"Tess, I have a princess dress." said Amy holding up the purple dress. Tess squealed and ran over to Amy to put on the dress. She didn't even wake up the sleeping Derek. Nicky just shook his head and finished up before giving Carlos the lip stick.

Tess had the purple dress on with a special birthday crown.

Carlos and Rose helped the children bowl as Amy took pictures. The rest of the adults talked, watched the little ones, and bowled when it was their turn.

"I am so tired." said Amy as she collapsed in the chair next to Cecil.

" You haven't sat down in two hours and I bet you got off the plane and came straight here." said Cecil with a small grin "No wonder your tired. I would be too, if I was you."

"You must be Cecil. I am Amy. But I am sure you already know that." said Amy with an embarrassed grin and blush.

'Its nice to meet you, Amy." said Cecil holding his hand out for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you too." said Amy shaking his hand "I have heard a lot about you."

"So I heard." said Cecil.

"I figured Rose would talk to you first. She has been dying to talk to you." said Amy "I talked to Ms. Josie and she talked about you too. Like how you have been looking after for not just Carlos, but Tess as well."

Cecil's blush was all the confirmation she needed.

"Thank you." she said while looking at Carlos helping Tess bowl "If something happened to Carlos, I don't know what I would do. But it I am being honest with myself, if something happened to Tess…I don't think I could stand to even think along those lines."

"I am not in love with him." she added when she saw his face "I used to have a huge crush on him, but it changed into something better. I love him, but not like a spouse, or husband. More like a good friend, or best friend. It would be weird if it was like a brother and Rose is more my sister than my best friend, so Carlos takes over being my best friend."

"I don't understand…" said Cecil.

"Why I told you all this?" asked Amy to which Cecil nodded.

"I guess I want you to like me. You can become something more to Carlos and I didn't want you to dislike me. That could even turn on Tess and I don't want that." she said "Carlos may be blind, but I am not. I saw how you look at him and how you look at Tess. You love them both, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." said Cecil with a blush.

"Carlos is lucky to have you. Tess too. Best of luck getting him. I am cheering you on there." said Amy "Not that you need it, or want it. Carlos would be crazy not to fall in love with you and we all now he isn't crazy. He is a scientist after all."

"Thanks." said Cecil.

"I hope we can be friends." said Amy.

"We can if you want." said Cecil rubbing the back of his head.

"Good, I would like that. Its not very often someone takes a special interest in Carlos. It gives me a chance to dish the embarrassing stories I have on him. Even show pictures." said Amy with an evil grin.

"Oh, you are evil. Do spill." said Cecil.

"Off the record." said Amy "And I mean you do not breathe a word about what I tell you next."

"Ok, off the record and I swear I will not breathe a word." said Cecil as he leaned in closer as she whispered what she was so willing to share.

Carlos looked over and saw Amy and Cecil talking. He didn't like the look of it, but it wasn't like he could stop it either. He turned his attention back to Tess and tried to force the worry to the back of his mind.

"Oh, look at the time." said Rose as she glanced at her cellphone.

"Yea, it's time to eat and then cake." said Carlos which made the children run towards the room.

Rose stopped by her husband and gently woke him up. But not before taking pictures. Carlos noticed some of the interns and scientists had been messing with Derek even more. It looked like they were trying to throw food into Derek's mouth. They even drew on him with hopefully washable markers and balanced cups of water on him. They even surrounded the poor man with cups of water. Rose removed the cups balanced on him before waking him. It wasn't until he kissed Rose and left a lip imprint on her cheek, that he noticed the make over. He ran it to the bathroom after that and came out rather annoyed with a make up free face and hair tie free hair. The marker wasn't quite as washable as Derek would have liked, which probably annoyed him even more.

Carlos was paying so much attention to Derek, that he didn't see Cecil and Amy exchange numbers.

The rest of the party went without any trouble. Tess loved all the presents she got. Amy got her the rest of the Percy Jackson series and the second series as well. (These books were approved by City Counsel and strangely never stopped working.) Cecil got her a beautiful dollhouse with dolls. Old Woman Josie knitted her a few dresses and matching ones for Kitty. His team got her another science kit. The interns gave her clothes and shoes. Carlos didn't want to know how they figured out her sizes. Rose and Derek got her an art easel and play dough. Nicky was the one to thank for that last one.

Carlos gave her an art set. It had colorful sticks (pencils), colored wax (crayons), big sticks (markers), and finger paints that he invented and were accepted by City Counsel. Nobody could use pencils and pens that were not approved. Those were illegal. It depended on the day if you could use paper. For the days you couldn't, Carlos invented a substance that wasn't considered paper, but worked like paper. It was accepted by City Counsel as well.

After thanking everyone, Amy and Carlos packed up his car and hers as well since Carlos couldn't fit everything in his car. While they did that, Rose watched the children. By this time, most of the residents of Night Vale went home.

Rose and Derek where staying for the night and heading back in the morning. They had an hotel room, but when they called to make sure they still had rooms, it seemed the hotel lost the rooms and had no other rooms. Old Woman Josie said there was plenty of room at her house and offered to have them stay which they agreed wholeheartedly.

It turned out that Amy was staying with Carlos while she was in town at Tess's insistence and Carlos's approval.

 ** _Thanks for everything you did, even if it is just reading. Hope you enjoyed it!_**


	4. Chapter 4

Carlos slept on the couch that night and woke up to the smell of pancakes.

"That smells good. You make enough for me?" he asked before a yawn escaped, walking into the kitchen.

"Maybe. Sorry if I woke you up." said Amy with a grin before turning back to the oven.

"I don't mind being woken up by that delightful smell." said Carlos sitting down at the table "I am surprised Tess isn't up yet. Pancakes and waffles are her favorite."

"I am too, but she did have a busy day yesterday. She fell asleep really fast last night. She didn't make it past a page before she was out." said Amy "Which reminds me, you have to read and record the books because she prefers you over me. Of course, I think we both know who she prefers over both of us."

"Who?" asked Carlos.

"Cecil. She loves his voice and after talking to him, so do I. Too bad he loves you, or else I would try dating that man. His voice isn't the only thing going for him." said Amy with a wink as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"You always had a thing for blondes and he couldn't possible love me. He barely knew me when he announced it." said a blushing Carlos.

"Sure and you don't like blondes?" joked Amy before stating "I admit that is a long shot, but not impossible. Nothings impossible." She sat down the pancakes and took a sit across from him.

"I have to talk to you about something." said Amy before he could start arguing with her.

"What would that be?" asked a nervous Carlos.

"I have to go England tonight. I have a six forty-five flight." said Amy staring at the cup of coffee "I will, hopefully, be there only two more weeks. If its not too much trouble, can you keep watching her? I would ask Rose and Derek, but they have their hands full. I don't want to be too much of a burden."

"I love Tess. She isn't a burden. She is welcome here any time, just like you are. Sure, I had to get used to having her here, but I wouldn't trade it for all the answers in the world. I love having her here." said Carlos with a smile.

"Thank you." said Amy.

"So, when do you plan on telling Tess?" asked Carlos.

"I am not sure. I will tell her thou. I don't want to ruin her day." said Amy "At least, not her whole day."

"You plan on spending the whole day with her until you leave again." stated Carlos.

"I was hoping you could join us. It would make it more special for her." said Amy.

"I have to work this morning, but I can try getting the afternoon off." said Carlos. He had some time sensitive experiments to finish up this morning and unless something big happens, he could get the afternoon free.

"I need to get ready for work." said Carlos as he looked at the clock.

"It is 7:30 in the morning. You need to eat. Sit down." ordered Amy with a glare that sent a chill down Carlos's spine. He would never admit that though.

"I am going to go wake up Tess, stay put and eat." she said before leaving the room. Carlos obediently stayed put and was eating when Tess came running in followed by Amy.

"Morning, daddy." she said hugging him.

"Morning, princesa." said Carlos hugging her back. He couldn't help smiling down on his little girl lovingly.

"Mommy said you have to work today, but you can hang out with us later. I get to hang out with mommy and go shopping by myself." said Tess with a smile.

"That sounds fun." said Carlos suddenly glad he had to work.

"Yea, it does." said Tess " _Mommy, Can we invite Cecil to come with us today?_ "

" _Yes, of course we can. If he is available that is. I have his cellphone number. We can text him in a little bit. Don't tell your father._ " Amy said with a grin.

"What did you just say?" asked a nervous Carlos "I heard the name Cecil, so I know it is something."

" **I don't know what you are talking about, Carlos** _._ " said Amy stuffing her mouth full with waffles.

"Yea, I will believe that when pigs fly." said Carlos.

"Careful what wish for, daddy." Tess said before giggling again.

"I am done, so I am going to get ready and leave you girls to do whatever you are planning on doing." said Carlos as he stood up from the table and walked to his bedroom. He really wanted to cancel going to the lab and going shopping with the girls, but he couldn't neglect his work just so he doesn't get embarrassed. He would just have to deal with whatever comes next, good or bad later.

Amy texted Cecil as soon as Carlos was out of the room. If she remembered right, Cecil worked later tonight. She hoped his morning was free. Tess would be crushed if he couldn't come. Cecil answered her back right away saying he could go with them this morning. He worked later that night. They decided to meet up at nine o'clock at Carlos's apartment since Amy didn't know Night Vale very well and Cecil knew where Carlos lived.

Amy was doing Tess's hair when Cecil came.

"Cece!" yelled Tess opening up the door and hugging him.

"Hi, Tess. Amy." said Cecil as he hugged her back.

"Hi, Cecil. We are almost ready. I just have to finish up Tess's hair." said Amy "Come on, Tess. Faster we finish your hair, the faster we can leave and go shopping."

"Ok, mommy." said Tess. She grabbed Cecil's hand and dragged him into the living room.

"Guess she doesn't want you to sneak away." said Amy.

"Yea, I guess so." said Cecil with a chuckle.

"Alright, Tess. Sit." said Amy pointing to the spot in front of her, brush in hand. Tess sat down and Amy went back to combing her hair. It didn't go unnoticed that Cecil was trying to learn how to style Tess's hair by Amy. She would have offered to teach Cecil, but Tess was so excited and impatient that it would be impossible for her to do it now. Amy had to put her hair in a simple three strand braid instead of the french braid she wanted to try. She braided both sides of her bangs and pulled them back, before leaving for the shopping mall.

Cecil drove since it would be silly to take two cars to the same place and they talked on the way there. Tess joined in the conversation sometimes, but mostly they talked about Night Vale.

"I can see why Carlos was so hesitant about Tess coming here." said Amy with a soft smile.

"Why?" asked Cecil.

"From what you told me, Night Vale sounds like a dangerous and strange town." said Amy "And it might be, but isn't every town have some danger and strangeness. Not as bad as here, but nowhere is perfect. I wish Carlos would have trusted me enough to tell me, you know? I would have let Tess come. I trust Carlos to protect her and keep her safe. I wouldn't have kept them apart due to the danger. He is her father after all."

"I sort of understand where Carlos is coming from. I see how much he cares about Tess. He doesn't want to lose her." said Cecil.

"As do you?" asked Amy.

"Yea." stuttered a blushing Cecil.

"Hm, don't be embarrassed. Its sweet." said Amy with a smile.

"Oh, look. We are here." said Cecil pulling into the mall parking lot.

" _Oh, we are shopping for stuff. Right, mommy?_ " asked Tess jumping around as much as she could in her seat.

" _Of course, we are sweetie. Why else would we come here?_ " replied Amy as Cecil parked.

"Its Italian. I speak Spanish, Italian, Japanese, French, and English. I learned all these languages for my career. It's easier to make business transactions and deals without a translator. I grew up around the Italian and English language. My grandparents were Italian immigrants." explained Amy after Cecil gave her a weird look.

Amy helped Tess out of the car and the group made their way towards the mall.

"What is your career?" asked Cecil.

"President of my mother's fashion design company, Belmonte Designs." said Amy.

"Wait? Are you Amelia Belmonte?" asked Cecil.

"Yea, I prefer Amy though." said Amy.

"So, you are one of the top fashion designers in the country? Neat." said an amazed Cecil.

"Yep, mommy makes a lot of money. She saves most though and donates some." said Tess "She still won't get me a kitty."

"Honey, your father is allergic to cats. Cats are kitties. Deal with it." said Amy with a smirk.

"Where do you want to go first?" asked Cecil changing the subject.

"Toy store." said Tess as she grabbed both Cecil's and Amy's hands and dragged them inside.

"Ok." said Cecil.

"No surprise there." said Amy "Do you know where the closest toy store is?"

"Yea, there is a Build-a-Bear store." said Cecil "I can show you the way."

"Why, thank you Cece." said Tess causing the adults to chuckle.

Cecil and Amy helped Tess make a Happy Hugs Teddy, a Caramel Swirls bear, and a Lil' Almond cub.

Amy was really glad she was rich, since Tess whispered to her that she was making all the stuffed animals for Carlos, Cecil, and Amy as gifts. Amy couldn't tell her no after that.

Tess picked out the outfits with care. Unknown to the adults till later, she had planned what outfits and shoes to get. Each bear got one outfit and a pair of shoes including accessories.

Amy made a recordable Tan bear with a purple dress, a tiara, and matching shoes for Tess in secret when Cecil was helping Tess pick out outfits.

Amy bought all the items and when Tess was so busy talking to Cecil, she was able to buy her surprise for Tess without her knowledge. She planned on giving it to her later.

Carlos texted Amy wondering if they ate yet and then they made plans to meet up for lunch in the food court here in ten minutes. Just enough time for Tess to dress the bears and put them in back in the box for the surprise. Amy handed her the things and since they were a surprise, neither adult could help. Tess moved the stuff far enough away where they couldn't peak, but not far enough that she was in danger, or out of sight.

While all her attention was on the task at hand, Amy choose that time to go hide her surprise in the car and Cecil watched Tess when she did that. Amy made it back in time before Carlos got there and before Tess realized she was gone.

"Thanks, Cecil. I really wanted to surprise her." whispered Amy as she sat back down.

"Your welcome." said Cecil "I can see you can't help spoiling her."

"It's hard not to when she does something like this." said Amy.

"What do you mean?" asked Cecil with a raised eyebrow.

"Those stuffed animals she got are gifts." giggled Amy with a smile.

"Oh, for who?" asked Cecil.

"Carlos, me, and you." said Amy.

"Me?" asked Cecil.

"Yes, you. She doesn't know another Cece." said Amy making Cecil blush even more.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" asked Carlos walking up to them.

"Not much. Just talking. But Tess has a surprise for all of us." said Amy looking at Tess.

"Oh, is that so?" asked Carlos sitting down.

"How about I treat you all to lunch? No buts."said Amy standing up "It looks like Tess is almost done. I will go get her and then the food. What do you want?"

The two men gave Amy their orders and she left them to get the food. Tess came back with the boxes and dropped them off, before following her mother. Not before telling them not to peak and making them chuckle.

"She sure is something, huh?" stated Cecil with a grin.

"Yea, she takes after her mother on that." said Carlos "Being bossy. It's in her blood."

"I can see you in her too." said Cecil.

"Oh, what?"asked Carlos with raised eyebrows.

"Whenever she focuses on something, it is hard to break her concentration. She is caring and brave. Old Woman Josie said she crushed a spider once with no fear. She cares for everyone she meets, but Steve Carlsberg. She has good taste there." said Cecil "She also looks like you and Amy, of course. She likes science, but not as much as art. She is the nicest, smartest, sweetest little girl I ever met. I know she has a big heart."

"She got the art interest from her mother. I had nothing to do with that." laughed Carlos "But everything you said was true." he said with pride as Amy and Tess came back with the food.

They sat and ate with random conversation. When they were all done, Tess jumped down from the table and grabbed the boxes.

"Now, I hand you your gift and you have to wait till I say it is ok to open it." said Tess. She didn't move until all adults present agreed with her.

She looked in each box before closing it back up and handing it to the right person, with a huge smile on her face as she did it. The adults waited patiently for her to give them the ok.

"Open them. Mommy first." said an excited Tess. She could barely stand still from her excitement.

Amy smiled at her and opened the box to see the Happy Hugs Teddy in a blue dress, black shoes, and a crown on it's head.

" _Thank you, sweet heart!_ " said Amy with a huge grin and a hug.

Satisfied with that answer, Tess told Carlos and Cecil they can now open their gifts.

Carlos opened his box and pulled out the Lil' Almond Cub. It wore a white shirt under a purple vest and black pants. It had on purple sneakers. The bear had on a radio headset with the Night Vale Community Radio logo on the sides and purple framed glasses.

Cecil's box contained the Caramel Swirls Teddy. It wore a blue checkered shirt and dark blue jeans. It had on a pair of brown boots. It also wore a lab coat and black framed glasses. It also had science googles on its head.

Both men were speechless while Amy tried to control her laughter at their reactions.

"Do you like them?" whispered Tess. She was confused. She was starting to get worried cause their faces were turning red and the only time that happens (that she knows of) is when the person is angry, or embarrassed. They were suppose to be happy and hugging her, saying thank you with huge smiles on their faces like mommy did. Not just staring at their bears.

"Um, maybe they will like them if you told them what they were?" suggested Amy when the men still did not answer.

"I gave daddy a Cece bear and a daddy bear to Cece." said Tess like it was the most obvious thing in the world "Don't you like them?"

"Oh, I love it. Thank you, Tess." said Cecil with a huge grin.

"Thank you, princesa. I like it." said Carlos with a forced smile which made Tess smile "But can I ask you a question."

"Sure, daddy." said Tess.

"Why did you give me a Cecil bear?" asked a nervous Carlos.

"Because you are Cecil's boyfriend silly." said Tess making both men blush and Amy laugh.

"That's my girl." praised Amy in between her giggles.

"Where did you hear that?" asked Carlos.

"I didn't hear it from no one. You are boyfriends, right?" asked Tess "Aren't you two dating?"

"Not boyfriends. Just friends. Dating means that word and we are not dating." corrected Carlos.

"But you are boys, right?" asked Tess.

"Yea." said Carlos.

"And you are friends?" said Tess.

"Yea." said Carlos.

"So, you are boyfriends." said Tess.

"Where did you get that idea?" asked a red faced Carlos.

"From adults." said Tess "Doesn't Cecil love you though? Why don't you go out with him?"

"I don't feel the same about Cecil." said Carlos glancing quickly at Cecil. Cecil was awfully quiet.

"How do you know Cecil loves daddy?" asked Amy.

"He said so. Everyone says so even you, mommy." said Tess.

"Oh, look at the time. I need to go to work." said Cecil quickly "I had a wonderful day. Thank you and a special thanks to Tess for my wonderful present. I love it and will cherish it always."

Cecil then said his goodbyes and left.

"Go after him." said Amy.

"What? No. He knows its nothing personal." said Carlos.

"Whatever. Not the reason. We rode over here with Cecil and he has Tess's carseat in his car. Her only carseat." said Amy emphasized the only part "And I had to put a present I got for Tess in his car. It is in the front seat." she whispered.

"You are faster than me." said Amy at normal volume "Go after him."

"Fine." said Carlos "Just don't read in between the lines cause there is nothing going on."

"Just go!" said Amy pointing in Cecil's direction "We will wait here."

"Alright." said Carlos in defeat before running off.

Carlos ran into the parking lot and was relieved to see that Cecil was still there. Carlos walked up to the car and noticed Cecil in the driver side, but the engine wasn't running. Concerned that Cecil was having car troubles, Carlos walked up to the driver side and knocked on the window startling the man inside. It didn't go unnoticed by Carlos that the other man was crying, even though he tried to hide it.

Cecil was still holding the Carlos bear and set it down in the passenger seat before getting out of the car to see what perfect Carlos wanted.

"Hello again, perfect Carlos. Do you want something?" asked Cecil with a genuine smile.

"Amy said you have Tess's carseat and a present for Tess in the front seat." explained Carlos in a rush.

"Oh, sure. I will get them for you." said Cecil as he opened the car door to get the seat and box.

"Um, are you ok?" asked Carlos. He didn't know why Cecil was crying, but he would feel guilty either way until he found out for sure. Cecil was his friend after all. Nothing more and nothing less.

"Yea, I am fine." said Cecil "Why do you ask?"

"I noticed you were crying." muttered Carlos.

"That. I was admiring Tess's thoughtfulness. She is so sweet." said Cecil handing the carseat and present to Carlos "I really do love her gift. It's the nicest thing anyone has ever given me. When is she going back to her mother's?"

"Not for another two weeks." said Carlos "Amy has to go to England tonight."

"Does Tess know?" asked Cecil.

"Not yet. Amy wanted to give her a perfect day today before telling her later." said Carlos "We are not looking forward to it."

"Well, good luck." said Cecil.

"Thanks. I am going to need it." said Carlos.

"If you need any help, just call." said Cecil "You still have my number?"

"Yea, in my wallet." said Carlos.

"Good. See you later." said Cecil getting into his car.

"Bye." said Carlos before picking up the carseat and present. He walked over to his car, put the things in it, and went back in to met up with Amy and Tess again.

"How'd it go?" asked Amy when he got back.

"Good. I caught him before he left." stated Carlos "What's the plan now?"

"Head back to your apartment." said Amy before whispering "I have to leave soon."

"Ok." said Carlos "Come on, Tess. We are leaving."

"Where we going?" asked Tess jumping down from the table where she was coloring with her travel coloring book.

"My apartment." said Carlos.

"I have a surprise for you there." said Amy.

"Let's go then." yelled Tess grabbing her parent's hands and dragging them away.

"That was easy." said Carlos.

"Most likely the easiest part." said Amy.

They returned to the apartment and Tess couldn't sit still.

"Ok, mommy. We are here." announced Tess as they walked in "Where is my surprise?"

"Wait here and I will go get it." said Amy.

A few minutes later, Amy walked through the door with the box behind her back. She had Tess close her eyes and hold out her hands. Amy put the bear in Tess's waiting hands and told her to open her eyes.

"Thank you mommy!" screamed Tess as she hugged the bear. All of the sudden, the recording went off.

"Always remember you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and twice as beautiful as you'd ever imagined. I love you, dolce cuore." said the recording.

"Mommy, it talks." exclaimed Tess "And in your voice too."

"That is because it is my voice, dolce cuore." said Amy as Tess hugged her.

Amy glanced at the clock and sighed.

"Tess, I have something to tell you." whispered Amy.

"Yes, mommy." said Tess frowning in confusion. Mommy sounded sad all of the sudden and she didn't like it. Carlos stood nearby to comfort Tess when she would need it and to help Amy anyway he could. Amy had to help him every time he had to leave Tess and it was only fair to return the jester.

"Mommy has to leave soon." said Amy.

"You aren't taking me, are you?" asked a heartbroken Tess.

Amy swallowed a lump in her throat before answering.

"No, its a business trip. I can't take you." said Amy.

"Why? Can't you stay? You just got back!" cried Tess clinging to Amy for dear life.

"I am sorry. I can't stay, but the next time we are going home. Ok? I am sorry." said Amy, a few tears falling into Tess's hair when she said that. Amy stroked Tess's hair with one hand and the other holding onto Tess. She was trying and failing on comforting her little girl. It was breaking her heart.

Finally, Amy looked to Carlos, giving him silent communication and Amy handed Tess to Carlos.

"No! Take me with you, please!" screamed Tess through her tears "Don't go!"

"I love you. Be good. It's only for a little bit. I will be back. I promise. Bye." said Amy leaning in for one last kiss and wiggled free from Tess's attempt to keep her from leaving. She picked up her purse and said her farewells fighting back tears before walking out the door.

"It will be ok, Tess. You'll see mommy in two weeks. You can go with her then." said Carlos as he wiped away her tears "If you cheer up, we can go anywhere you want to for supper? Or I can cook anything you want?"

"I want pizza." whispered Tess once she calmed down.

"Alright, princesa. Big Rico's it is." said Carlos as he grabbed his keys and walked out the door.

 **Author's Note**

 **Hi! Happy New Year!**

 **So Sorry I forgot the date and posted late. Also haven't edited this chapter yet, or the next one. Sorry.**

 **Don't fear, you get another chapter early.**

 **Been busy working and having a social life, or trying too. (I work full time at a part time job, so it is hard to write, or do anything besides eat and sleep.)**

 **Anyway, I will see you next month. See ya.**


	5. Chapter 5

_*_ _Italic words are flashback scenes. No Translations this chapter!_

The next day, Carlos got a surprise.

"Hey, Tess!" yelled a familiar voice as Carlos was getting Tess out of the car at Old Woman Josie's.

"Nicky, hi!" said Tess. She practically jumped out of Carlos's arms to run to her friend.

"Nicky, I thought you and your parents went home yesterday." exclaimed Carlos.

"They were planning on it, but things changed." said Old Woman Josie "His mother, Rose, went into labor right before they left. She had the baby early this morning."

"I have a little sister now." said a proud and excited Nicky.

"What's her name?" asked Tess.

"Sophie Lilianna Miller." said Nicky.

"Cute name." muttered Carlos absentmindedly when Tess asked him what he thought of the baby's name. He was thinking he would have some words with Nicky's parents, mostly his father, when he saw them next.

"How long have you been watching Nicky?" asked Carlos.

"Since two yesterday afternoon." said Old Woman Josie "He has been so good. He helped me with my chores and yard work. Angels don't seem to mind him either."

"How about I take care of Tess and Nicky today?" asked Carlos "You deserve a break."

"What about your work?" asked Old Woman Josie.

"We aren't doing anything dangerous today and if we were, I am sure they could deal without me for the day. Derek is a scientist as well. Nicky knows the rules of the lab and is well behaved." explained Carlos "I know his parents. They won't mind and I will call them."

"Well, alright then." said Old Woman Josie "They left the carseat just in case. It is on the porch."

"Thanks and I will pay you for today as well." said Carlos as he grabbed the carseat and put it in the car. He then called the children over and put them in before texting Derek. He decided to call him when he got to the lab. He also texted Diana to give her a heads up along with the other scientists as to what is going on.

While Josh and Chris played with the kids, Carlos called Derek.

"Hey, dude. What's up?" asked Derek when he answered the phone.

"Not much besides the fact you left your three year old son with a sweet old lady overnight." said Carlos "Ms. Josie may watch Tess, but it's only for nine hours max and I pay her. You can't leave Nicky with her for so long."

"I know that and I didn't mean too." said Derek "Things happened that was out of my control."

"You could have called me. I could have watched him." said Carlos.

"I just thought you would be exhausted. I didn't want to put too much pressure on you. I heard what happened the last time." said Derek. Carlos could swear he was holding back laughter and grinning like crazy on the other end.

"Very funny. I can watch him till you guys get out of the hospital." said Carlos.

"No need for overnight. Rose gets discharged later today." said Derek "I also need to talk to you later, but I got to go." before hanging up.

"That was weird." muttered Carlos before going to check on the kids. They were doing science experiments with their babysitters, so Carlos decided to catalog data from an experiment he was working on while he still could. As soon as he was done with that, he checked on the children again and even helped them with their experiment. They were making a baking soda and vinegar volcano and had just got done making the volcano. Carlos had Nicky put in the baking soda and had Tess put in the red vinegar. While the reaction was happening, he explained what was going on science wise to the excited children. He didn't know if they were paying more attention to him, or to the volcano thou. After they cleaned up the mess from the volcano, Carlos took them out to Arby's for lunch. Carlos just got the food and sat them down, when Derek walked through the door.

"Hey, guys." said Derek "How's your day been?"

"Hi, daddy. It has been fun. We erupted a volcano." said Nicky.

"A baking soda and vinegar volcano." added Carlos.

"I see. Cool." said Derek "Anyway, I need to talk to Carlos. You two eat and color, ok?"

"Ok, daddy." said Nicky going back to his conversation with Tess.

"What's up?" asked Carlos after Derek dragged him away from the table.

"I don't suppose you are hiring anymore scientists?" asked Derek.

"Yea, actually I am. I have an opening coming up. Diana is leaving. She got offered a better job and took it." explained Carlos "Why?"

"I need a job is why. Apparently, we have to move here now." said Derek.

"What? Why?" asked a shocked Carlos.

"There is a law that anyone born in Night Vale has to live in Night Vale." said Derek with a shrug "Since Sophie was born in Night Vale, we have to move here. That is why I had to end your call earlier. The Secret Police came over to 'talk' to me."

"They shouldn't be able to make you." muttered Carlos.

"That is fine. Rose likes it here and that is what matters." said Derek.

"What about you? Are you ok with this?" asked Carlos.

"Are you kidding me? This town is the most scientific place ever. Of course I am ok with it. Plus, I have my best buddy that I get to work with." Derek said high-fiving Carlos.

"So, what is Rose going to do? What about a place to stay?" asked Carlos.

"She isn't sure yet what she is going to do. I think she is going to talk to Cecil about it and possibly, be a stay at home mother." said Derek "As for a house, she said she will take care of it. She found a house and put in a bid."

"Aren't you worried?" asked Carlos.

"Na, I trust her." said Derek.

"Well, as long as you are ok with it." said Carlos "Anything else you need to tell me?"

"Nope. I have to leave and pack. Rose is staying with the children in town." said Derek "And before you ask, she has help. It's not Old Woman Josie either."

"Who then?" asked Carlos with a sense of dread.

"Cecil, who else could there be?" Derek ask rhetorically with raised eyebrows and a sly grin.

"I was afraid of that." whispered Carlos.

"Cheer up." said Derek smacking Carlos on the back "She won't embarrass you to your crush. That is my job."

"What? I don't have a crush on Cecil and it is totally not your job." said Carlos.

"Whatever, dude." said Derek "Just ask him out already. He is a great guy and someone is bound to snatch him up sooner, or later."

"Not you too." complained a blushing Carlos.

"Hey, just returning the favor." smirked Derek.

"Dad, are you going to stay and eat?" asked Nicky running up to the men.

"Sure, I can. I have to get mommy and Sophie afterwards and then help mommy set up for the baby at Uncle Cecil's. After that, I have to get our things moved from the house to our new house." said Derek "Oh, yeah. We are moving here." he added.

"Cool." said Nicky after he got over his shock.

"That could have gone worse." muttered Derek as he watched his son jump up and down in excitement.

"Lucky." whispered Carlos.

"Yea, I know. Isn't it great?" whispered Derek.

"I need your help thou." said Derek patting Carlos on the shoulder "You see, the car we have now can't fit in two carseats plus all the stuff I got for the baby. We brought the wive's mini Cooper. Can you do me a favor and drive Nicky to the hospital and then to Cecil's? It would be a huge help."

"Sure." sighed Carlos. He couldn't say no to the puppy dog eyes that man could give. He didn't know if Rose, or anyone for that matter could.

"Thanks." said Derek before going to get himself lunch.

After they ate, Carlos followed Derek to the hospital with two excited toddlers in the back seat.

Once they got there, Tess dragged Carlos while Nicky dragged Derek into the hospital. Nicky was excited and a little scared. This was the first time he is seeing Sophie. What if she doesn't like him? Derek had to reassure him, and Tess as well, that Sophie would love them both.

Memories started flowing back to Carlos as he walked into the hospital room.

 _It was a beautiful day and Carlos was stuck inside working on his dissertation when his phone rang. He sighed before picking it up, not even bothering to look at the caller id._

 _"_ _Hello?" he answered, his right hand covering his eyes as he tried to concentrate on the voice on the other end of the line._

 _"_ _Hey, Carlos." said the voice "It's Rose. Rose 'going to be' Myers."_

 _"_ _Oh, Rose. Hi, what's up?" he asked._

 _"_ _Not much. Waiting on my baby fat to go away already. I am so done being an elephant." complained Rose. Since she had her son, Nicolaus, a little more than a month ago, she has been wanting the baby fat to float away. Like that was going to happen._

 _"_ _Ha ha." said Carlos "Nothing personal, but why are you calling?"_

 _"_ _The reason I am calling is personal to you." said Rose "Amy just went into labor."_

 _Carlos never knew a simple sentence could freak him out so much._

 _"_ _You mean the baby is coming now?" asked a panicked Carlos._

 _"_ _Yes, now." said Rose._

 _"_ _But she isn't due for a few more weeks." responded Carlos, his voice going abnormally high._

 _"_ _Um, Carlos. Today is her due date." said Rose "You and time are not friends , are you?"_

 _"_ _These things happen. Calm down. Everything is fine at the moment. At least, that is what the doctor says." reassured Rose when he didn't answer her back. Her voice calming him down like normal._

 _"_ _Breath, Carlos. We are at St. Luke's hospital." said Rose "Get here as fast and safely as possible, ok? I don't want you to miss the birth of your daughter."_

 _"_ _It could be a boy." said Carlos as he grabbed his keys._

 _"_ _Could, but it's not." said Rose "I have a sixth sense when it comes to things like that."_

 _"_ _I will be believe it when you can prove it scientifically speaking." said Carlos._

 _"_ _Now that is the Carlos we all know and love." chuckled Rose "Hurry up and get here, sunshine." she said before hanging up._

 _Carlos was already out the door and racing to his car when she said that._

"Hello, sweetie." said Rose as Derek carried Nicky over to the bed. She was holding a pink blanket and smiling up at the group when they walked in.

"You ready to see your little sister?" asked Derek, getting a nod from Nicky. They walked over to the bed while Carlos and Tess stand back.

"Daddy, I want to see the baby." complained Tess.

"Just wait. Family goes first." explained Carlos "Then we can."

"Fine." pouted Tess as she watched Derek set Nicky on the bed.

"Nicky, this is your baby sister. Sophie, this is your big brother." introduced Rose as she moved the blanket back far enough for him to see.

"Wow." whispered Nicky as he watched the newborn sleep.

 _"_ _Hey, Carlos. Snap out of it." whispered Derek as he gently shook the poor man from his daze. Carlos hadn't been able to even see Jasmine, or find out any information, since he got there thirty minutes ago. All he knew was that she went in for an emergency C-section._

 _"_ _Is everything ok? Is she ok? Is the baby ok?" asked Carlos standing up suddenly and knocking Derek to the ground on accident._

 _"_ _They are both fine. Everything is ok now." said Rose as she rubbed his back in comforting circles._

 _"_ _Don't worry about me. I am fine too." complained Derek as he picked himself off the floor._

 _"_ _Sorry, its just…" stuttered Carlos._

 _"_ _I understand, bro." said Derek "Next time thou, I will kick your a…"_

 _"_ _Enough." interrupted Rose, glaring at her soon to be husband._

 _"_ _Are you the father?" asked a nurse walking up to the group._

 _"_ _Yea." stuttered Carlos "But can I learn what happened first?"_

 _"_ _Oh, yes. The problem was that the baby was in the breech position. Butt first. The doctor suggested a caesarean and after the pros and cons, they decided to go ahead with the procedure. Amy is doing well as is the baby." explained the nurse. Carlos signed in relief when he heard the news._

 _"_ _Do you want to see you daughter now?" asked the smiling nurse, making him freeze up. Oh god, he was a father. To a little girl no less. Rose will never shut up after this._

 _"_ _Yes, he would." said Derek pushing Carlos forward as Rose sat laughing silently._

 _"_ _Alright, then." said the nurse walking away "Follow me."_

"You guys can come over now." said Rose.

Carlos carried Tess over and they both looked down at the sleeping baby in her mother's arm.

"She is so cute." cooed Tess "Can I hold her?"

"I want to hold her first." protested Nicky.

"You both can hold her for a little bit. She is little and you two don't know how to hold her. Come here." said Rose as she patted at a spot besides her "Nicky first, then Tess."

She handed the baby over to Nicky and after awhile, she handed the baby over to Tess. Derek and Carlos took pictures while this was going on.

"If Carlos wants to, he can hold her too." said Rose as she looked over to the man.

"I don't know about that." said Carlos shifting his feet around "It has been awhile since I held a baby."

"Nonsense, here." said Derek taking his daughter from Tess and handed her over to the other man.

 _"_ _Here you go." said the nurse putting the baby into his arms. Carlos couldn't think for once in his life. He had to control his shaking as he brought the baby closer to his chest. He looked down at his daughter in his arms and couldn't believe he could love someone this much within a minute of meeting her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, making him freeze yet again. She smiled at him and the tension he was feeling left him for good. He smiled right back at her and was so engrossed in the moment, that he didn't see the camera flash._

 _"_ _See, daddy? You have nothing to worry about. She loves you." said Amy drawing his attention away from the baby for a split second before looking back at the baby._

 _"_ _Yea." whispered Carlos kissing her forehead "I love you too."_

 _"_ _So, what are we going to name her?" asked Carlos looking up at Amy._

 _"_ _How about Tesla?" asked Amy with a huge smile "Tesla Grace."_

 _"_ _It is perfect." said Carlos before looking down at his daughter "Tesla Grace. Tess." as she held his finger._

 _"_ _I like Tess. Oh, and she will have your last name too. Mine as well." said Amy "We can change it later, if we want."_

 _"_ _Thank you." said Carlos._

 _"_ _No problem. Her having your last name is no big deal…" said Amy before Carlos interrupted her._

 _"_ _For that and for choosing that name." said Carlos "Naming her after Nikolo Tesla and Grace Murray Hopper." He clarified._

 _"_ _Again, no problem. I can't believe I named my daughter after two scientists." said Amy "You are such a geek and nerd all wrapped in one."_

 _"_ _Yea, you are right." said Carlos as Tess started to cry and he started freaking out._

 _"_ _She must be hungry." said Amy as Carlos handed her over into her waiting arms._

 _"_ _I will give you some privacy. Bye." stuttered a blushing Carlos as Amy got ready to breastfeed Tess. He may be gay, but it was still embarrassing. He felt weird being there as his ex breastfeed their newborn._

 _"_ _Ok, see you later." called Amy giggling as the door closed behind him._

Carlos snapped out of it when he noticed a flash.

"What was that for?" asked Carlos glaring at Rose.

"Oh, no need to get upset." said Rose "I just wanted a picture of my daughter and my brother in-law together." to which she took another picture of Carlos's shocked and embarrassed face. Carlos quickly composed himself and handed the baby back to her father, who had a huge grin on his face.

"I didn't know you were daddy's brother." exclaimed Tess pointing to Derek.

"Does that mean we are related?" asked Nicky gesturing between himself, Tess, and Carlos.

"No, not by blood." said Carlos.

"More like brother's from another mother, who aren't related at all." said Derek.

"What?" asked the two four year olds.

"They are very close friends and treat each other like real brothers." explained Rose.

"Oh." whispered Tess.

"That's good then." said Nicky.

"Why is that?" asked Derek.

"Cause I want to marry Tess when we grow up." said Nicky with a shrug.

"Oh, no. Not going to happen." said a wide eyed Carlos "She is not dating, or getting married till she is forty."

"I can wait." said Nicky with a cheeky grin.

"Still not happening." said Carlos "Don't we have somewhere to be?"

"Yea, but this is so much fun." giggled Rose.

"Ha ha. Very funny." said Carlos "Let's go. There are things to do before nightfall."

They were discharged from the hospital shortly after and Carlos followed their car to Cecil's house. Carlos didn't know what to expect, but this wasn't it.

He didn't know why he expected it to have painted (real looking) hearts with his initials and Cecil's in the middle of it all over the pink house with rose bushes, purple grass, and candy placed all around the outside. That was the house next door, minus the initials in the hearts.

Cecil's house looked normal. It was a simple white, two story house with brown shutters, bushes in front of the porch, and greenish brown grass. Nothing really special about the house except that it had an old playground in the backyard and a tire swing hanging from the tree in the front yard. There was a brown fence framing the backyard and the only reason he could see the playground, was because the gate was opened when he walked up to the house from the driveway.

Of course, Carlos had to get out of the car because Tess had to see Cecil and Carlos needed to see if Derek needed any help crying things in. (He did.)

"Hey, Cecil." greeted Rose "Thanks again for helping us out."

"Hi, it was no trouble. I have plenty of room here." said Cecil as he let them in.

"Hi, Uncle Cecil." said Nicky making the other man blush.

"Oh, sorry about that. I sort of called you Uncle Cecil earlier today. My bad." said Derek rubbing the back of his neck as he carried in an arm full of grocery bags.

"It's fine. I have a niece, so it is ok. I was just surprised he would call me that." said Cecil.

"Cece, hi." said Tess hugging him before anyone else could say anything else.

"Hey, Tess. I wasn't expecting to see you today." said Cecil. He looked up, making eye contact with Carlos before quickly looking away with a slight blush.

That didn't go unnoticed by the adults, much to Carlos's discomfort.

"I didn't know I was coming today. It just happened." stated Tess with a huge grin.

"How about we leave them to it do whatever they need to do? We will see them later." said Carlos sitting down the bags he helped carry in the doorway.

"But…" pouted Tess.

"No buts. We only came to drop off Nicky, since they didn't have the room in their car." said Carlos.

"Oh, Carlos. I just wanted to say thank you again and if you need my help, I am available." said Rose "That is if Cecil doesn't mind until we move into our house."

"Oh, I don't mind." said Cecil "Carlos and Tess are always welcomed here."

"Your welcome and thanks. May have to take you up on that offer." said Carlos as he guided Tess towards the car, saying their goodbyes along the way.

 **Author's Note**

 **Again, I haven't edited this chapter yet. When I have time, I will. Sorry.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this! See ya next month!**


	6. Chapter 6

***Italic words = Spanish. Also, I am sorry. So sorry. This chapter is different, just to warn you without ruining it! Enjoy, or not.**

Carlos and Tess went back into their old routine for the next few days.

Of course on the first of September, he couldn't take Tess to the lab, or Old Woman Josie's. The lab would be doing dangerous experiments today and Old Woman Josie's house was affected by the black out. She said the Angels protected her from the different people issue that was going around associated with the black outs, but he couldn't take Tess there with no power. Carlos was so used to Night Vale that he didn't he think about that too much, which surprised him when he thought about it later.

Unfortunately, that meant he had to call Rose and hope that she wasn't affected by the black out as well.

"Hello." greeted Rose, sounds of a baby crying in the background.

"Oh, sorry. It sounds like you are busy." stuttered Carlos.

"Oh, Carlos. Nah, not that busy. Sophie just got done with a sponge bath." explained Rose "What's up?"

"Well, I needed you to watch Tess today, but if you can't…" said Carlos before Rose interrupted him.

"I can watch her. Nicky has been wanting her to come over anyway." said Rose "We can have a movie day today. Cecil has a lot of Disney movies he said we could watch. Plus there is a backyard."

"Are you sure?" asked Carlos.

"Of course, perfect Carlos. I can handle three children." said Rose "I was a daycare provider, assistant teacher, and pediatric nurse. I think I am more than qualified to watch two toddlers and a newborn."

"Alright. I get it." said Carlos "Wait, did you just call me perfect?"

"Yep, and you gotta admit that it's better than Twinkle toes." smirked Rose "And I heard it from Cecil's radio show. He doesn't gush about you at home. Much. Mostly we talk about our careers and lives. Not everything revolves around you."

"That is a relief." said Carlos before biting his bottom lip with a blush. He didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Aw, you were afraid we would embarrass you. Sorry, but it is Derek's job to tell him embarrassing stories. I even think Amy told him a few at the birthday party." said Rose. Carlos could sense her smile all the way from across town.

"Anyway, I will be dropping Tess off soon. See you then." said Carlos before hanging up on her. He tried not to feel too bad about that, but he was in no mood to hear anything else.

"Come on, Tess." called Carlos as he tried get control of his blush "Rose is watching you today." That got the response he wanted. Tess came running into the living room, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Really?" she asked not believing him.

"Yes, I am telling you the truth." chuckled Carlos "You ready?"

"Not yet." said Tess before running to her room again.

"Well, hurry up." yelled Carlos, shaking his head.

They were on their way, after Tess packed her backpack and Carlos got her in the car that is.

Unlike the first time Carlos dropped off Tess at Old Woman Josie's, Tess didn't cry, or throw a tantrum. She ran off with Nicky to the backyard to play, leaving Carlos with Rose.

"Well, I better get to work." said Carlos turning to leave.

"Wait." said Rose grabbing him by the arm and turning him around to face her.

"If you want, I will stop teasing you about your cru…love life, ok? At least, not as much, or in front of him." stated Rose "I will even talk to Derek and Amy. No promises there though."

"I would really appreciate that, thanks." said Carlos "Why…"

"Am I doing this? I can tell how uncomfortable it is making you." said Rose with a small grin "I don't want to push you away, so you won't hear that much about it after this though. You are a very private person after all."

She paused to gather her thoughts before continuing.

"Please, don't string that man along. If you don't want a relationship with him, please don't encourage it. I don't want you to break his heart, or ruin your friendship with him."

"I will try. I tell him all the time it's not personal. There is nothing more I can do." said Carlos.

"I know that. He knows that. I am not sure you know that…" said Rose before Sophie started crying. "I got to go. See you later." said Rose before rushing over to her baby and leaving Carlos in the doorway confused.

"Yea, see you later." he called shaking his head and closing the door.

He had science to focus on, not his love life, or lack of.

He was exhausted when he left work that night. Between the time sensitive experiments exploding, new data that made no sense on the house that doesn't exist, a major earthquake no one felt (again), the weird power outages (luckily the lab had back up generators) and the static-y hum coming from the dog park, that the mayor refused to accept; Today was a very busy, crazy day. He took a breather in the driveway before getting out, especially since he saw Cecil's car parked in front of his. He didn't want to make anything worse than it possibly could be. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The door opened up to non other than the owner of the house, Cecil.

"Hello, Carlos. Are you here to pick up Tess, or…" asked Cecil with a huge grin before Carlos interrupted him.

"Hi, Cecil. I am here to pick up Tess." said Carlos.

"Oh, well we are watching Frozen. It just started. Would you like to stay and watch it with us?" asked Cecil looking to the ground and rubbing the back of his neck with a slight blush.

"It would be too much trouble…" trailed off Carlos before being interrupted by Rose this time.

"Nonsense. I am cooking fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and deviled eggs." said Rose grabbing his arm and pulling him in "There is enough for everyone. Come on in."

"If you insist." muttered Carlos making Cecil and Rose laugh.

"Yes, we do. Tess would be upset if you left now." said Rose "Like Cecil said, they just started the movie."

"Alright, after the movie and supper we can leave." said Carlos "I need a break anyway."

"Bad day?" asked Cecil.

"Yes, a very busy day." said Carlos.

"What happened?" asked Cecil as they sat down on the couch. The children were on the floor in front of them and were so engrossed in the movie, that they didn't even realized the adults in the room.

"Well, the time sensitive experiments I was conducting exploded. I have no clue why." said Carlos putting his hand across his face as he relived it.

"Was anyone hurt?" asked Cecil.

"No. That was a miracle in itself." stated Carlos.

"That's good." said a relieved Cecil "Anything else happen? Maybe something news worthy?"

"Nothing news worthy yet. We got new data on the house that doesn't exist and it makes no sense." said Carlos shaking his head "It shouldn't be there, but it is in a way there. We can see it and get readings off of it, but those readings say it doesn't exist."

"Hm, interesting." said Cecil deep in thought. Carlos glanced over at the other man and saw he was completely interested in what he was talking about. That surprised Carlos. Not many people, who were not scientists, were interested in when he talked about science. Carlos felt warmth spread though him just thinking about it. It encouraged him to tell Cecil about the rest of his day while the two waited for dinner.

That is how Rose found them when she came in to announce supper. There was Carlos talking to Cecil, who looked like Christmas came early. Carlos was smiling as he explained the moon to Cecil.

"Sorry to interrupt, but supper is ready." said Rose as she paused the movie, much to the protests of the little ones.

"You two can finish the movie after supper." said Carlos as he guided the winning children into the dining room.

"I heard after supper that there is cake." said Cecil as he sat down at the table.

"Really?" asked a wide eyed Tess.

"What kind?" asked a skeptic Nicky.

"Chocolate." said Rose, which excited the children "But you need to eat first."

Not much was said after that as everyone ate. No surprise that the children got done first and were begging for cake.

"Why don't you two go out back and play until we are done?" suggested Rose.

"Ok, mommy." said Nicky before he followed Tess outside.

"Thank goodness." breathed Carlos in relief.

"Yea. This is the reason I said to keep the cake a secret." said Rose, pointing at Cecil with the fork.

"I am sorry. I can't help it. I have a habit of announcing whatever is on my mind." said a blushing Cecil.

"Well, I am surprised you could keep Tess's party a secret then." said Rose "Eat fast. They will be back before you know it."

True to her word, they were. This time when they asked, they got cake and when they were done eating it left to finish their movie.

"It looks like ten minutes are left in the movie." stated Rose "Why don't you tell me about both your days?"

"Not much happened." shrugged Cecil "I said everything on my show earlier today. Did you listen to it?" Carlos assumed they were going to be busy, so he took the dishes to the sink.

"Yes. Very interesting."answered Rose before telling Carlos that she will do the dishes later. She had baby stuff to wash anyway.

"Did they ever figure out how to properly build the drawbridge?" Rose asked turning back to Cecil.

"They are still trying to figure out the materials, but they have plenty of time to build it. No rush there. People are still sending in tips and drawings, so they should figure it out soon." said Cecil.

"That is good." said Rose "I hear the radio station's annual pledge drive was a success this year. Congrats."

"Thanks. It was a community effort." said Cecil "It is a community radio station after all."

"Yes, but a hair over forty-five thousand within a day is amazing." stated Rose "Even if people were aware of donating, or not."

"It is not that amazing." said Cecil "You most likely donated without even realizing it."

"Those kind of spells won't work on me." muttered Rose low enough Carlos barely heard her, who was sitting right next to her. He came back into the room after Rose told him about the dishes. He didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation, so he sat there listening to them talk and keeping an ear out on the children in the next room.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Carlos.

"By what?" asked Rose just as Sophie started to cry.

"Sorry, I have to get Sophie. The movie is probably over. You may want to check on the children. They are very quiet." said Rose as she made her way to the bassinet in the corner where Sophie was sleeping in.

Carlos and Cecil walked into the living room just as the the movie ended.

"Movie is over, princesa. Time to go." said Carlos "Are you all packed up?"

" _Yes, daddy. I am all packed up._ " said Tess " _Can I come back tomorrow?_ "

" _Yes, if Rose and Cecil don't mind._ " said Carlos "Why don't you ask?"

"Ok, Cece." said Tess looking at him "Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Yes, you are welcome here anytime." said Cecil.

"Good. Rose, can I come tomorrow?" Tess yelled at the top of her lungs. Carlos face palmed and Cecil had to cover up a laugh at that.

"Yes, you can come tomorrow." yelled Rose "Who else would I get to play with Nicky?"

"Ok, see you tomorrow!" yelled Tess before turning to Carlos with a huge grin.

A blushing Carlos forced a smile before saying, "Ok, we will see you tomorrow. Come on, Tess."

"See ya, Cece. Bye, Nicky. Bye Rose, and Sophie!" yelled Tess as Carlos put her in the car.

"Bye!" waved Cecil as Nicky ran past him.

"Bye, Tess!" yelled Nicky "Bye, Uncle Carlos!"

Carlos waved at them before getting into the car and driving away.

'Well, at least it looks like I got another sitter now.' thought Carlos as Tess filled him him in on the activities for the day.

Tomorrow seems like it would be interesting as well.

Rose watched Tess and the day went along fine. Carlos helped Derek move their things into their house while Rose watched the little ones. It only took a few hours to get everything in the house and set up. Carlos decided to put the thought that it should take longer to unload the moving truck and unpack for another day. He passed it off as Night Vale weirdness.

It was the second day in a row that he realized that he hadn't heard from Amy, or rather Tess did.

"Daddy?" asked Tess, drawing his attention from his work to her.

"Yes, princess?" asked Carlos.

"Why hasn't mommy called?" asked Tess "It seems like forever since I talked to her."

"I don't know, but if she doesn't call today, we will call her tomorrow." said Carlos "Sound like a plan?"

"Yep!" said Tess before going back to her coloring.

'There is nothing to worry about. She was just too busy to call.' he thought before pushing his worry aside and going back to his work.

Little did he know that a simple phone call would change his life forever.

Later that night he talked to a doctor, Amy's doctor. The doctor explained that Amy was in a terrible car accident yesterday morning after clarifying that they were talking to the right person. The doctors in London had a hard time finding someone to contact, but they finally got ahold of her doctor a few hours ago. The doctor then called him with the news since he was the first person on her emergency contact form. That is, after they confirmed that it was indeed Amy.

"How could that happen?" asked Carlos "How could they…"

"She was in a three way accident. One of the vehicles was a bus full of people. They had a hard time identifying all the bodies in the aftermath. That is why it took so long for them to contact anybody." explained the doctor "I am sorry for you loss, Carlos."

"Yea, me too. I've got to go." whispered Carlos before hanging up. He felt numb. He was so out of it in his grief, that he didn't even notice that Tess had woken up and came into the room.

"What's wrong, daddy?" asked a worried Tess "Why are you crying?"

Carlos moved his hand to his face and realized he was crying. He quickly wiped his face and sat down on the couch, motioning for Tess to sit on his lap. Tess climbed into his lap and he suddenly realized he had to tell her that her mother had died yesterday. That she wasn't coming back, that she was never going to see her again. How was he going to do that? He knew he had to, but he couldn't form the words just right. He finally decided on the words to say to his little girl that he knew was going to break her heart.

"Tess, I have something bad to tell you." Carlos started out.

"Is it why you were crying?" wondered Tess as she touched his cheek.

"Yea, it is." said Carlos.

"What is it?" asked Tess. She wanted to make daddy feel better and she knew she couldn't without knowing what was making him cry.

"Earlier today…. mommy was in an accident." said Carlos trying to hold back his tears.

"Is she ok?" asked Tess, fear written across her face.

"No, Tess." choked out Carlos "Her injuries were too bad for the doctors to save her…. She died early this morning."

"No. You are lying! She can't….You are a liar!" screamed Tess pushing away from Carlos. He held her tight to his chest, all the while Tess was fighting him to get away from him.

"I am sorry. So sorry." whispered Carlos "But it is true."

"No! Mommy! Please, come back! Please! You can't leave me and daddy. You promised you would come back!" screamed Tess sobbing so hard she was gasping for air. Carlos cradled Tess against his chest even as she tried hit him. Carlos stroked her hair, kissing her head, and whispered everything will be ok. He did everything and said anything that he knew to make her feel better, even though he knew it was in vain.

Soon, she had stopped hitting him and just cried into his shoulder. He was crying with her now. It upset him that he couldn't do more to help her. All he could do was hold her as they both cried from the grief they were feeling.

No matter what he did or said, he couldn't get her to calm down or make her feel better. He never felt so crushed before.

He held her till she fell asleep in his lap and he even held her long after.

"It's alright. You'll see. It's going to be ok. Everything is ok." whispered Carlos as he held her close "I am here and I am not going anywhere. I promise."

How can people think he can be in a healthy, romantic relationship, when he failed as a father when his daughter needed him the most? People said it was natural to be in a relationship and to be a father. Carlos failed Tess so many times and now he was doing it again. How was he suppose to be a good boyfriend, if he can't even be a good father? Why was he even thinking about this now?

He had to focus on Tess now. A (possible) relationship would have to wait.

 ** _Thanks for everything you did!_ _Sorry for the late update!_**


	7. Chapter 7

If Carlos was being completely honest with himself, the following weeks were a blur to him.

He told the news to Derek, Rose, and his team of scientists the next day. Cecil was at work, so he didn't get to tell him. Carlos didn't want to call and leave a voicemail, but it didn't matter. Cecil found out later that day when the news stations learned of her passing. Since then, he got support and sympathy from everyone he saw.

Carlos got sympathy from the citizens of Night Vale as well, which did surprise him. Cecil and Old Woman Josie were the only citizens that seemed to like him and want him there. Everyone else ignored him, stayed away from him, or ran away from him whenever he wanted to ask questions, or just say hi.

Carlos appreciated all the help he could get. Even when he got food and flowers from the residents of Night Vale.

He kept getting strange food dishes and flowers that he had to have Cecil tell everyone that even though he appreciated the thoughts, he was running out of room in his fridge and apartment for everything. That was putting it nicely. Some of the food dishes were alive, others were all kinds of colors, and the rest were a combination of the first two. The flowers weren't much better. From spitting acid, smoking, exploding, and trying to take a bite out of Carlos, he had enough of the 'gifts' from Night Vale. He took all of it to be experimented on in the lab later that week.

He only kept one flower. As far as Carlos could tell, it wasn't harmful in any way. Carlos wasn't sure what kind of flower it was and even showed it to Josh. Josh never saw anything like it before. Josh could only theorize that it was a mutated orchid and knowing Night Vale, it as a very possible theory.

The flower did look like a orchid, but it had a color that none of the scientists has ever seen in an orchid before. It was like a clear, violet purplish color during the day. At night, it glowed different colors. The colors seemed to change with the person closest to it. In the moon light, it sparkled. It's scent was different for everyone as well. Josh smelled fresh-baked cookies, Chris smelled oranges, Rochelle smelled vanilla, Derek smelled Rose's perfume, and Dave smelled the beach. Carlos smelled a type of cologne he couldn't place.

It wasn't till Rose saw it that Carlos took it back to the apartment.

It was a few days after the funeral when Rose stopped by the lab.

"Hey, sweetie." said Rose as she walked into the lab "How are you doing?"

"Rose, you know you have to ask before just walking in." complained Carlos "We could be doing dangerous work and where are the kids?"

"First off, not stupid. Second, I was asked to come. Third, I texted before walking in. Fourth, Cecil is babysitting for the time being." explained Rose using her fingers to emphasize her points.

Rose took the news of Amy's death the hardest, except for Tess that is. Rose and Amy were so close and treated each other like they were real sisters. Even through her grief, Rose still helped out as best she could and even started babysitting Tess when Carlos went back to work a few days after the funeral.

"You asked you to come?" asked Carlos.

"My hubby. Not surprised he didn't tell you." said Rose.

"Why did you do that?" asked Carlos glaring at Derek.

"Well, funny story. Last night, I was explaining my day and described the mystery orchid in my detailed accounts of the day." said Derek.

"I recognized the description and told him what it could be. I had to see it to know for sure." explained Rose "It sounded like a flower I heard about in stories from when I was a little girl. It is called the Dolore flower if I remember right. It is very rare, even the stories my mother used to tell me."

"It is over here." said Derek as he guided his wife through the lab. He would never admit it, but he was nervous to have his wife in the lab. Things could become hectic and he didn't want anything to happen to her. Of course, she had a mind of her own and refused his offer to bring her pictures of the flower. She had to see it for herself.

Rose made her way to the flower, dodging acid and smoke as she went along. Nothing was going to get in her way once she put her mind to it.

When she finally saw the flower, she gasped. It really was the Dolores flower. Her mother showed her pictures when she was a little girl. She went up to the flower and smelled it to make sure. Rose smelled the flower and sighed. It smelled like she knew it would.

"It is suppose to be connected to love and help with grief. The smell involves something calming, a certain smell that calms down an individual person. Usually, that smell is associated with love. Something, or someone you love. Like for example, Derek said her smelled my perfume. I smell Derek's shampoo." explained Rose with a smirk "The scent can change too. In some stories, it was said to reveal your soul mate. The scent it gives off the most is of your soul mate, but only once you have found them."

"But then again, it depends on your age. I have heard stories of children who have lost a love one and the flower gives off the scent they associate the best with the loved one lost. It helps them deal with the loss, but I don't really understand that part." Rose finished as everyone in the room listened.

"I have never heard of any of this." whispered Josh and a few other scientists.

"That is impossible." said Rochelle shaking her head in disbelief.

"You said it was a flower from stories. It can't be real." said Carlos as he stared at the flower.

"Dear Carlos, nothing is impossible." said Rose "Most stories explain things in a way for others to understand. That doesn't mean they aren't true. You have angels here, it is not so hard to imagine this flower being here as well."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Carlos.

"Even though Angels don't exist…" said Rose looking around the room "I have heard stories that this flower is a gift from Heaven. Just like a Red Fern."

"But it wasn't planted." said Chris.

"But it was given. Someone found this plant, or whatever and gave it to you in your time of need. You live in a town with a Glow Cloud that rains dead animals, Sheriff's Secret Police, Angels that don't exist, acid spitting sunflowers, invisible corn, a five headed dragon that is wanted by the law, a faceless old woman who lives with you, and that is not even scratching the surface of the strange things that happen here. Everyone here treats the abnormal events to be normal, and you can't believe a flower from stories is real?" stated Rose with a 'are you serious' face.

"Ok, ok. We get it." said Carlos "There is even a chance that it is genetically modified, or whatever. We can just keep it here and examine it…"

"No, you are not. You are taking it home to your little girl." said Rose as she poked him in the chest "This flower helps with grief and god forbid that she needs the help. She lost her grandmother and her mother in less than six months. She is four years old and hasn't quite grasped the situation yet. This flower can help her."

"But…" said Carlos before Rose interrupted him again.

"No buts." said Rose "If I don't see that flower in your apartment the next time I come over, you will need some serious surgery."

"Surgery?" asked Carlos as Rose backed him against the wall.

"Yes, surgery to get my foot out of your…" said Rose before Derek interrupted her this time.

"I think he gets it." said Derek as he pulled his wife back.

"We all do." said Josh, who was hiding behind Chris.

"Good." said Rose, backing off.

"And people wonder why I like guys." muttered Carlos as Rose went back to the flower.

"Yea, and don't forget it either." smirked Rose.

(And that is how Carlos brought the Dolores Flower home.)

Of course, everyone in the room knew how Tess was doing after her mother's death. Not very well.

She had regressed to sucking her thumb and being super clingy to Carlos after Amy's funeral.

Some days she talked constantly and others not at all. Tess never wanted to talk about her mother and even stuffed the bear Amy got her in the closet.

She would cry about everything and anything. Some days, she was angry at the world and there was nothing you could do to stop her from screaming.

The first few days until the funeral, she slept all the time. Afterwards, she had to sleep with Carlos. Tess destroyed most of her artwork and Carlos had to put up her books, since he knew she would be upset if she destroyed those.

Carlos knew she was grieving and helped her the best he could, with Rose's help that is. She gave him a book on grieving for children and websites to help him better understand what is going on and ways to help.

Carlos followed all the advice given and she had slowly started getting better. He would never admit it, but he hoped the flower would help. He missed his little girl. His happy, art loving, smart, and silly girl. He felt like he was failing her overtime she cried, or threw a fit at the world.

Carlos wished he could go back and tell Amy not to go. To stay and never go over seas again. But he knew that was impossible.

"I should go." said Rose as she looked at her watch "I told Cecil I wouldn't be that long."

"It is funny that both Nicky and Tess have grown attached to that man. Nicky always listens to his radio show. He thinks Cecil is funny. Thank god he hasn't realized that everything that man says is true." said Derek with a huge grin.

"Cecil has a special way with kids." stated Rose before giving Derek a kiss "I'll see you later."

"Love you too." said Derek as she walked out the door.

"Rose, wait up. I'll go with you." said Carlos as he grabbed the Dolores Flower on his way out.

"Ah, you want to see Cecil too. How sweet, since you have been avoiding him for weeks now. You just can't stay away for too long!" said a smiling Derek with a wink towards Carlos.

"Bye!" said a blushing Carlos as he grabbed his bag and walking out the door, but not before flipping off Derek. That got even more laughs as he closed the door.

"So, where are we going?" asked Carlos as he jogged up to Rose. She was waiting by her car for him to catch up.

"My house. Cecil has a new dog. I think that three kids under five and a puppy would be too much for Cecil to handle." said Rose as she jumped in her car.

 **Autor's note**

 **Sorry about the late update.**

 **Truthfully, I don't know when this will be updated again. My grandma was in the hospital around the time I usually update and I focused my attention on her. She just passed away today, so I don't know when I can write the next chapter.**

 **I just wanted to give my readers a heads up and an** **explanation on the lateness.**

 **See you sometime hopefully soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

Carlos hated to admit it, but Rose was right. The Dolores Flower helped Tess.

His little girl was back to her old self and that was all that matters.

But Carlos also knew that his little girl could go back to her depressed state at any moment and that put him more on edge. He never wanted her to go back to that state again.

Carlos even thought about packing up Tess and leaving NightVale behind for good after he got high radiation readings from Radon Canyon; but his love of science along with Derek and Rose moving here kept him from didn't want to leave the few people that were Tess's support.

It had nothing to do with the a certain radio host that had joined his small family in an unlikely way. Being bestie's with Rose.

Nobody could replace Amy, but Rose had grown attached to Cecil in a sister/brotherly way. In fact, they teased each other like real siblings and were protective of each other.

Cecil always warned Rose of danger before it happened and informed her of Nightvale laws that could get her in trouble. Rose in turn was there to listen to Cecil, giving him advice when needed, and even told off a few people in his defense.

Of course Carlos didn't know of any of this till later. He was too busy with Tess and science to pay much attention to anything else.

Carlos kept very busy in the science part of his life with all that was happening with the town. Between Radon Canyon, the mysterious pyramid, the wheat and wheat by products, and all the other abnormalities in the town it was a wonder he had time to care for Tess.

Then one day after Carlos took Tess to Rose's, one of the most terrifying days since Carlos moved to town happened. Street cleaner day.

Carlos just got to the lab when Derek grabbed him and pushed him in the emergency room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"What is going on?" asked Carlos.

"Street cleaner day." stated Derek as he locked the door.

"And what is that?" asked Carlos as he looked around the group of equally confused scientists.

"Don't look at us." said Josh.

"Derek pushed us all in here without telling us anything." said Chris.

"Do you guys not listen to the radio." said Derek "Cecil just announced street cleaner day. Everyone has to take shelter from the cleaners. Anyone who doesn't, gets killed."

It took a moment for that to sink in, before the group heard sounds coming from outside. It sounded like a humming, vacuum on the other side of the metal door. Then the banging on the door started.

"We should be safe in here." said Derek as he looked at his phone "Rose and the kids are safe too."

That put some of the worry off of Carlos, but that didn't answer the question of if Cecil was safe. Even though Carlos would hate to admit it, the man had started to grow on him.

Just then, Rochelle turned on the radio and Carlos had to stop himself from sighing with relief as he heard that man's voice.

They all sat there listening to the radio and waiting for the all clear, so they can leave. Some prayed that the door would hold, while others just wanted to talk and hold their love ones.

Finally the banging stopped and the humming went away. A few moments later, Cecil gave the all clear, and everyone rushed out of the room.

Carlos, followed by Derek, ran to the Derek's house to check on the family. (Derek always walked to work since they didn't live that far away.)

After confirming that everyone was safe there, there was a knock on the door.

Carlos opened the door, without putting dow Tess, and was relieved at seeing the radio host on the other side. Cecil looked out of breath as he stood there wide-eyed, like he was soaking in everything for the first time. (Carlos didn't realize till later that he was doing the same thing when Derek pointed it out to him.)

They stood there gazing at each other till Tess snapped them back to reality by leaning out of Carlos's arms towards Cecil, who gladly took her.

"Why don't you two come inside and we can have a cook out?" suggested Rose.

"That sounds like an awesome plan." said Derek as he made his way to the kitchen to start supper.

"I think so too." said Carlos as he moved aside to let Cecil and Tess inside. Carlos smiled to himself as he closed the door behind them, thinking how lucky he was that everyone he cared about was safe.

The following weeks were no different. Between time slowing down, the sandstorm, and all other NightVale craziness, Carlos was growing more and more frustrated. Nothing made sense and all that made him more reckless.

Pain. That's all Carlos felt was pain. All he could see was darkness. He could hear shouts and screams, but he couldn't focus enough to make out words. He could make out a far away voice crying, but not the words.

Then it all disappeared and he was at the bus stop, surrounded by mist as it swirled all around him. Besides the bench and sign, he couldn't see anything else.

'How did I get here? What's going on?' he thought looking around.

"I say this is limbo. Not quite dead, not quite alive. Right in the middle." said a voice from behind him.

He whipped around so fast he could have given himself whiplash. He couldn't believe who he was looking at. She looked just like she did the last time he saw her, only she wore all white.

"Amy?" Carlos asked in a whisper.

"The one and only, tiger." Amy said with a wink.

"How?" asked Carlos looking around in confusion.

"Let's just say City Counsel is wrong." said Amy.

"That makes so much sense." said Carlos sarcastically.

"I am a guardian angel, genius. I guide and protect. How do you think you all lived so long? Luck? Maybe, but it was mostly me. I put in suggestions and warnings in his head. I reassured you, guiding you in the right direction. I directed dangers away from you guys." she explained "Of course, you choose to ignore me now and look what happened. It is always your choice in the end. I can only guide after all."

"His head?" asked Carlos.

"Cecil's. How do you think he knows so much? He unknowingly hears angels. We guide him. Not just him either. We are the little voice in your head that talks to you. Sometimes you talk to yourself, but most of the time its an angel. Cecil relies our messages the best, so we communicate through him the most. Not all the time. Only when there is immediate danger. Example being, Street Cleaner day." explained Amy, pausing to let it sink in before continuing.

"He had a warning in a sense before even getting the information. He knew something bad was going to happen that day, so he went to work early. If he hadn't, a lot of people would have died including himself." Amy clarified, "It's not like he has a magical, third eye that sees everything."

'Yet.' she thought as she looked at Carlos, waiting for everything to sink in further.

"He doesn't listen to us all the time thou." said Amy.

She remembered the sandstorm and he told everyone not to kill their double. He followed his words and didn't kill his. That will come back and bite him in the butt later on.

"I know how that is. He can be stubborn." chuckled Carlos.

"You can be too." said Amy "Point and blank. You wouldn't be here if you had listened to me."

"I was wondering when you were going to rub it in." muttered Carlos.

"Every chance I get." smirked Amy.

"What's going on?" asked Carlos getting serious again.

"I already said. Limbo. Not very many people get a chance like this." said Amy sitting down on the bus seat. She patted it as a gesture for him to follow suit. He did.

"How do I get out?" he asked "I don't think I can stay here forever."

"You can't stay. You are right about that." she said "You have to choose."

"Choose?" wondered Carlos.

"Whether to go back, or move on." said Amy "What are you going to do?"

"Tess needs me. I need to go back. I can't leave her alone. She already lost you, she can't lose me too." said Carlos. He was surprised she even asked him that.

"She is not the only one." said Amy.

"What?" asked Carlos.

"You heard me." said Amy "Why are you afraid to open your heart to that man?"

"I don't understand…" said Carlos.

"You do understand. That's what freaks you out. He loves you. Why can't you let him in? He is crying right now for you." said Amy suddenly waving her hand in the air and Carlos can see Cecil threw the mist. Cecil is crying uncontrollably and holding a trophy in his hands. It looked like he was trying to talk, but couldn't. Amy waved her hand and the scene faded away.

"And don't give me the poor excuse of not wanting to because of Tess. He loves her like she is his daughter as well. Cecil still loves you even when he found out you were a father. He grieved over my death, even thou he had only known me for a few days. I am your ex and mother of your child. He still cried for me, for Tess, and for you. He wears his heart on his sleeve, even the times it doesn't seem like he does. He is kind, decent, very genial person. Sure, he has a dual personality, but that makes him Cecil. It is not easy growing up in Night Vale." she said "You love him. Why not ask him out? He has been waiting for you. Patiently, I might add."

"It's not that simple." said a red faced Carlos, from embarassment, or anger he didn't know.

"Loves is never simple. Also life is never simple, but it is short. Why not take the risk with your heart? You never know if it is worth the risk unless you go for it." said Amy "He is not going to break your heart. You have more of a chance of breaking his heart than he does yours."

"Why do I get the feeling you are just saying all this to get your OTP together?" joked Carlos after a long awkward pause.

"I care about you. You deserve happiness, Carlos. Cecil deserves happiness as well." said Amy.

"I have missed you, Amy." said Carlos with tears in his eyes "Tess has too."

"I miss you both as well. I do the best I can for you now, even if it means yelling at you and calling you an idiot. I just want want is best for you and Tess." said Amy as she stood up "Our time is almost up. It is time for you to go back."

"How?" asked Carlos.

"Just open your eyes." said Amy with a smile "Next time I sec better be from old age."

"No promises, but I will try." said Carlos before closing his eyes. Flashes of his life zoomed past his eyes. He saw everyone he cared about, but one scene shone through the most. It wasn't that surprising that it had Tess and the voice of Night Vale himself in it.

Then Carlos heard Cecil and he knew he had to follow that beautiful voice back.

"Let him have your heart. You already have his. You won't regret it." he heard as he faded away.

The next thing Carlos knew was that he was in pain again and laying on the ground in the bowling alley. The pain wasn't as bad as before thou.

Carlos slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He was gently pushed back down by a few hands.

"Hey, Carlos. Stay still and awake." said Teddy Williams as he tended to his wounds.

"I got to go." stuttered Carlos trying to sit up again and clear his dry throat in the process.

"Carlos, listen. You are injured. Teddy is treating your wounds. You need to stay still and get treatment. Rose is with Tess. I called her and told her you were ok. You can see Tess later." explained Derek as he held Carlos down.

"Cecil." muttered Carlos.

"I called Cecil as well. He knows you are ok. In fact, all of Night Vale knows you are alive." said Derek "No surprise there."

Derek got a few chuckles around the room at that, even from Teddy and Carlos.

"Anyway, just relax and listen to Teddy. He is almost done. In fact, I can finish him up. It looks like you are needed over there." Derek said motioning with his head over to the crowd on other side of the room. Teddy jumped up and ran over there as Derek continued wrapping Carlos's wounds.

"What's going on?" coughed Carlos trying and failing to sit up again to get a better look.

"The Apache Tracker. He just collapsed from his injuries." said Derek as he finished "He was the one to jump in and drag you out. I guess he was injured. Stay here and don't move. I am going to go check on him."

Derek walked over and immediately got on his cellphone. He talked for a few minutes before hanging up and walking back over.

"What happened?" croaked Carlos.

"The Apache Tracker…" said Derek. He didn't know how to break the news to his friend.

"Just tell me." begged Carlos.

"He died, Carlos." said Derek handing him some water.

"Who did you call?" asked Carlos dry swallowing and taking a drink of water.

He couldn't feel the pain anymore, he was so numb all of the sudden. That could have been him. He could have died and left the two people he cared about the most.

"I called the Radio station. Had to get the word out about his death somehow." said Derek "It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Yea, I agree." said Carlos "Help me up."

"You need…" said Derek before Carlos interrupted him.

"I need to get up. I need to leave. I want to leave. I have something to do before seeing Tess. Please." said Carlos holding out his hand for Derek to pull him up with.

"Fine, since you said please." said Derek with a sigh. He grabbed Carlos's hand and helped him up. He held onto Carlos till he could stand without failing down. Derek looked down at Carlos and winced. Carlos had blood all over his shirt, pants, and lab coat. Derek didn't want to think about how much was Carlos's, or the Apache Tracker's.

"Follow me out to my car before you do whatever you have to do." said Derek as he guided Carlos outside.

"Wait here." said Derek as he left Carlos in front of the car. He dug around his trunk for a few minutes. While he was doing that, Carlos texted Cecil to see if he could meet up with him in the Arby's parking lot when he can. Cecil texted back that he can meet him in fifteen minutes and if that was ok. Carlos answered him before Derek came back around with a red flannel shirt and jeans.

Derek noticed Carlos had a goofy grin on his face that he dubbed as his Cecil smile. Whenever Carlos talked to, about, and possibly thought about Cecil, he got this grin.

"You are around my size. Here." said Derek trying to hide his grin as he handed Carlos the clothes.

"I can't…" said Carlos.

"You can and you will. I can't let Cecil and Tess see you like this." said Derek gesturing to all of Carlos. Carlos looked at himself for the first time since he almost died and gladly took the clothes.

"You can change at Arby's." said Derek as he pulled Carlos into a manly hug "By the way, welcome back to the living."

"Thanks, but how did you know…" said Carlos as Derek pulled away from him.

"Wife." smirked Derek, waving his cellphone in view before putting it back in his coat.

"And Cecil?" wondered Carlos.

"Yea, he texted her before even announcing it on air." said Derek "You better go."

"See you later." said Carlos saluting him before turning towards his car.

"See ya." said Derek as Carlos walked away "Go get him, lover boy!" Derek yelled suddenly making Carlos trip. Carlos glared back at a smirking Derek, trying to control his growing blush before getting in his car.

Before Carlos knew it, he was turning into the Arby's parking lot. He parked where he could get the best spot to see Cecil's car and ran inside to change. He got changed as fast as possible and threw his dirty clothes in the trunk before sitting down.

He took this chance to think about everything that happened and has happened. Amy's words kept going through his mind and he knew he would regret this if he kept pushing Cecil away. It wasn't because of Tess that he did it. He didn't keep Cecil at arms length to protect her. He used his own daughter as an excuse to run away from his feelings and not get his heart broken in the end.

He did it because he was scared of his feelings for the other man. His feelings ran so deep for Cecil. He never felt like this for another person before. Deep down, Carlos thought he didn't deserve that kind of love and it would shatter his heart if a break up ever happened.

Amy was right. (He never thought he would say that ever again.) Cecil would do anything for Carlos. Carlos didn't have anything to fear except losing him to death.

So, why not take the risk?

After Cecil left, Carlos sat for a little while longer, before he texted Rose. Everyone was at his apartment waiting on him, so he got in his car and drove there.

As soon as he opened the door, he was ambushed. Tess ran into his arms, while Rose and Zander didn't even wait for them to have a tender moment before joining the hug. His team of scientists, minus Derek, followed suit and soon Carlos was in the middle of a huge bear hug with everyone.

Tears were shed, tender words were said, and a few smacks were given before everyone left him and Tess alone.

All that time, Tess didn't let him go, but she didn't say anything either.

"Tess, are you ok?" asked Carlos as he sat down on the couch with her. He noticed her knuckles were white and that she wouldn't look at him when he tried to look at her better.

"La princess, are you ok?" asked Carlos this time using his nickname for her. He wasn't expecting the result he got. Tears started soaking through his shirt as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's ok. I am fine, Tess. I am here. I am not going anywhere." said Carlos as he stroked her head.

"No, it isn't ok. I almost lost you like I did mommy." choked out Tess as she continued to cry. It broke Carlos's heart to know that he put her through this again.

Sure, living in Night Vale was dangerous. He knew that, but putting himself in deliberate danger was crossing the line. He let his frustrations over his failed experiments and data that didn't make sense cloud his mind to the point of jumping into potential danger without a second thought. If that had been anyone else, he would have told them off. Safety was top priority. He should never forget that, especially in Night Vale.

He held his daughter tight, stroking her hair, rubbing circles into her back, and rocked her as she cried. When she finally calmed down, he gently pried her hands away from his neck to look at her face to face. He put his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes.

"Tess, I am so sorry for scaring you tonight. I promise I will not leave you like mommy. Well, if I can absolutely help it. That means, I will not go jumping into danger anymore. Unless I can't help it. Got it?" asked Carlos "I can't make a defiant promise that I won't get hurt, or worse. But I will try not to."

"Ok, daddy. But that doesn't mean I forgive you." pouted Tess.

"I know. I didn't expect you too. How about tomorrow I take you to Build-A-Bear workshop and/or spend the whole day with you, doing whatever you want." suggested Carlos.

"Well, that's a start." said Tess. Carlos chuckled at that and kissed her forehead, before announcing it was bed time.

Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and for once, Carlos was looking forward to it.

 **Author's Note**

 **I guess this is the end story. I may write more chapters. It is possible, but it won't follow any other episodes. If I do, they most likely will be one shots.**

 **But for now, this is sadly the end.**

 **Anyway, I am sorry for the delay and if this chapter sucks. I had a hard time writing it. Thanks for everything you did. I really do** **appreciate it. I had fun writing this story. (until I got huge writer's block that is.)**

 **Thanks again for everything! Bye!**


End file.
